Moderna combines protection against flu and Covid

NEW YORK (EFE).— Moderna announced yesterday that its combined vaccine against influenza and Covid-19 is more effective than the two biologicals separately, as demonstrated by its trials.

The pharmaceutical company will apply for regulatory approval for its combined vaccine this summer in the United States and hopes to launch it on the market in 2025, according to information from the CNBC channel.

“Combination vaccines have the potential to reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on healthcare systems and pharmacies, as well as offer people more convenient vaccination options,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement yesterday.

Francesca Ceddia, Moderna’s chief medical officer, called the trial results “groundbreaking,” telling CNN that study participants who received mRNA-1083 showed an enhanced immune response compared to those who received the standalone flu and COVID vaccines that are currently available.

The results were valid even for trial participants over the age of 65. Older people generally do not respond as well to vaccines as younger people.

Moderna’s combination vaccine, called mRNA-1083, is made up of the seasonal influenza vaccine and a more recent version of its Covid vaccine. Both experimental vaccines (mRNA-1010 and mRNA-1283) have shown positive results in phase three trials.

This news gives Moderna an advantage over other pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and Novavax, which are working on the same type of vaccine.

Moderna and Pfizer and Novavax have said the combined shots will simplify how people protect themselves against respiratory viruses that typically emerge around the same time of year.

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