Two pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and Biontech, are testing a combined vaccine against Covid-19 and influenza. For the first time in the United States, 180 participants aged 18 to 64 were given a single dose of mRNA vaccine. At the first stage, it is examined whether the substance triggers a reaction of the immune system.
The manufacturers say the new combination vaccine is aimed at protecting people against two serious respiratory diseases at the same time. The vaccine combines a flu vaccine candidate from Pfizer and an adapted and currently approved Covid-19 vaccine from two companies’ Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. They share development costs.
Combination of two indications
“By combining both indications in a single vaccine approach, we want to offer people an effective way to immunize themselves against two serious respiratory diseases caused by ever-evolving viruses for which there is a constant need for adapted vaccines,” says Uğur Şahin, co-founder of Biontech. (57). (pbe)