The image is by Alex Castro.
The first data from clinical trials of Moderna's seasonal flu vaccine, released by the company Friday morning, were lackluster, showing that gene-based vaccines might not be a fix for all the problems with vaccine development.
The success of the COVID-19 vaccine, made by Moderna and Pfizer, has stimulated interest in the strategy for developing shots. The shots give people a small amount of the genes for a virus that the body uses to learn how to fight it. The current flu shots contain inactivated copies of the flu virus.
Moderna launched a clinical trial of an mRNA seasonal flu vaccine this summer, hoping to capture the same success as it did with its COVID-19 vaccine. Pharmaceutical companies want to make seasonal flu shots more effective. Three other companies are working on the same thing.
During an investor phone call, Moderna showed slides that showed the levels of the antibodies in the flu shots already on the market, but they weren't higher than those for the mRNA shots. They had more side effects than the shots.
The findings don't mean that the flu shots we have are any better than what we have now. The shots don't have to be developed as far in advance because they are designed and made in less time. Companies can wait to make the shots until they see what strains are circulating in the flu season, so they don't have to worry about what strain to target them against. Moderna is preparing to conduct larger trials that would test how well the shots actually keep people from getting sick in the real world.
The early data shows that the immune system is difficult and that it is not easy to stop a virus from replicating. More studies are needed to figure out if using a vaccine that is made from messenger RNA can help fight the flu. It is not a sure thing.
