The investigational vaccine is in the third phase of trials and targets flu strains expected to circulate this winter
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) are now recruiting participants age 65 and older who have not yet received this season’s flu vaccine for a trial of an investigational mRNA flu vaccine developed by Pfizer. The trial, taking place at many research sites across the U.S., will evaluate the vaccine’s efficacy and the immune response that it generates. If the vaccine performs well, it could contribute to improved protection against flu, which still has a large health impact in the U.S. and globally.
Current flu vaccines do not use mRNA technology, and both Pfizer and Moderna are testing mRNA flu vaccine candidates, which could become the first vaccines against influenza that use this approach. Vaccines using mRNA use the genetic sequence of a virus, rather than the whole virus, and are able to be manufactured rapidly at a large scale. They are also more easily adaptable, which could make it easier to match the vaccine to circulating flu variants.