CLEVELAND — Around the world, nearly 400 people are enrolled in a clinical trial as researchers study Pfizer’s mRNA influenza vaccine candidate, and according to a Cleveland doctor involved in the trial, the company’s flu jab could be ready as soon as this fall.
What You Need To Know
- A clinical trial is underway for a mRNA influenza vaccine developed by Pfizer
- A doctor involved with the trial said the vaccine could be ready in the fall
- COVID-19 vaccines were the first mRNA immunizations on the market
As the lead investigator for the northeast Ohio Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trial, Dr. Robert Salata, chairman of the Department of Medicine at University Hospitals, was part of a historic research process studying the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, the first mRNA vaccine ever to get an emergency authorization in the U.S.
Salata said influenza is the next target for the novel vaccine technology, and he is bullish on the timeline for the public to get the first mRNA flu shots.
“As to when it might be available, I think possibly, but aggressively, this might be for the upcoming influenza virus season,” he said in an interview.
The trial is evaluating a vaccine candidate that targets four flu strains — two each of influenza A and influenza B, which means it’s a quadrivalent vaccine candidate, unlike the company’s authorized monovalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
In response to a Spectrum News inquiry, Pfizer’s media relations office did not comment on the possible timeline for its influenza vaccine. The company simply said it is still in the process of collecting data from the trial, which began in September 2021. In the company’s announcement of the trial, Pfizer officials said influenza is an area where they see a need for more effective vaccines. They believe mRNA flu vaccines have the potential to be more robust than traditional flu vaccines.
This year, Salata said the flu vaccine was only about 16% effective against a strain of the flu, which is no doubt a disappointing result.
“The way we generate [influenza] vaccine is making our best guess about six months beforehand as to what the predominant circulating strains will be because it has to be grown in egg cultures, and sometimes we guess wrong,” he said. “We need to be able to make decisions about circulating strains almost in real time, and we need something that's more immunogenic.”
Salata said researchers will be closely studying the trial participants, including those enrolled at University Hospitals. They are eager to look at the immune responsiveness to the vaccine, which they will do by measuring antibodies.
The mRNA technology was developed with cancer applications in mind, and that research continues, Salata said. The technology could also be directed toward combatting shingles, he said.
He also noted that Moderna is working on a vaccine that targets influenza and COVID-19, both with mRNA. In the fall, he expects public health officials will make a push for Americans to get boosters for COVID-19 and vaccination against influenza, but it remains to be seen exactly which vaccines will be ready then.
Asked how regulators could approve a mRNA flu vaccine as soon as he says given that vaccines are typically researched for an extended number of years, Salata said the difference now is the mRNA vaccine technology has been proven to be safe.
“The urgency is not as great for influenza as it was for COVID, but now that there is considerable information about the safety of the mRNA platform, I think this will be taken it into consideration when they look to approve these in the future,” he said.