In Early Trial, Results Promising for Moderna Combo COVID-Flu Vaccine

THURSDAY, Oct. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Moderna Inc. announced Wednesday that it has seen positive early results with a new vaccine that would guard against four strains of flu plus COVID-19.

In interim findings from a phase 1/2 trial, the vaccine showed a strong immune response compared with both the standard dose of flu vaccine in adults aged 50 to 64 years and an enhanced flu shot in people aged 65 to 79 years. It also showed a strong response in comparison to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The new shot also appeared to be safe, with side effects similar to those people had with the Moderna COVID-19 shots.

"With today's positive results from our combination vaccine against flu and COVID-19, we continue to expand our phase 3 pipeline," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a company news release. "Flu and COVID-19 represent a significant seasonal burden for individuals, providers, health care systems, and economies. Combination vaccines offer an important opportunity to improve consumer and provider experience, increase compliance with public health recommendations, and deliver value for health care systems."

About 150 million doses of flu vaccine are administered in the United States each year, and this fall's COVID-19 vaccine is expected to reach 50 to 100 million doses this year, Moderna said.

Moderna hopes to get federal regulatory approval for the combined vaccine in 2025, so people will need to get separate vaccines for now.

"We are excited to move combination respiratory vaccines into phase 3 development and look forward to partnering with public health officials to address the significant seasonal threat posed to people by these viruses," Bancel said.

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