It is not always clear which part of the influenza virus a potential mRNA vaccine should target. “We need to make sure we’re targeting the right part of the virus,” Shah says. In the case of Covid-19, the prominent spike protein fit the bill. But flu viruses are likely more complex and mutate more rapidly, so choosing the wrong protein could mean the jab turns out to be less effective than hoped. On the flip side, Scheer said, mRNA vaccines could potentially target multiple proteins or parts of proteins on the same virus, making it a multipronged strategy. Suggests.
Additionally, although mRNA vaccines are difficult to develop, the ability to rapidly produce mRNA vaccines could be a major advantage. Traditionally, influenza vaccines contain an inactivated virus that grows in chicken eggs. This works quite well, but it takes a long time to land such a jab. That means health officials have to issue predictions far in advance about which types of influenza will be prevalent next winter. If vaccines can be produced more quickly, we will be able to make more accurate predictions as flu season approaches.
What’s more, researchers hope that one day a single mRNA shot will be able to target more than 20 strains of influenza at once, reducing the need for guesswork. Scheer’s colleagues We are working to develop such a “universal” influenza vaccine..
Clinical trials are underway but are still in the early stages. Sheena Cruikshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, said she was watching the reports about the new mRNA flu jab with interest, but questions remained. “We don’t yet know how long the immunity they produce will last,” she says.
Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, agrees that all flu shots, regardless of how they’re made, have the issue of weakening the immune system and reducing protection. It is pointed out that there is a possibility of a decline. After injection, it decreases by about 10% every month..
Concerns specific to mRNA vaccines are that they tend to cost more than traditional influenza vaccines and must be kept refrigerated, which can make them difficult to deploy in areas with poor infrastructure. . Researchers are also concerned that there may be further hesitancy to get vaccinated. “The mRNA vaccine platform itself is probably the platform that is receiving the most misinformation,” Cruikshank points out. “That might be a disadvantage.”
The new wave of mRNA influenza vaccines could particularly impact older patients, said Jenna Bartley, an assistant professor at UConn Health, a health research center and hospital. Older people are most at risk for influenza, but current vaccines are less effective in older adults because their immune responses tend to be weaker. However, the mRNA Covid-19 attack Proven to be effective for older people So do young people.
It may be some time before an mRNA jab is available for seasonal flu. However, if the H5N1 virus begins to infect more people, especially if it turns out to be frequently transmitted between humans, an mRNA avian influenza vaccine could be the first such vaccine to be deployed on a large scale. It has the potential to become a vaccine for U.S. health officials announced that an mRNA H5N1 vaccine has been developed. May be available within a few weeks if needed.
Osterholm agrees that such a deadline is realistic. The real challenge, he points out, is getting the new H5N1 vaccines to the people who need them most. While drugs to prevent the coronavirus emerged in wealthy countries and were quickly delivered to people, “that was not the case in most parts of the world at all,” he said.
