Moderna announced late last week that its mRNA combined seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccine proved robust and produced a durable immune response in a small, mid-stage trial. There were also no serious safety concerns.  [CIDRAP-Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, Research and Innovation Office. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. MN]

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According to Reuters, the study involved 550 healthy US adults ages 18 to 75 who received either the experimental combo vaccine (mRNA-1073) and a placebo, or two separate shots of Moderna’s commercially available mRNA flu and COVID vaccines.

The company said a single dose of mRNA-1073 elicited durable immune responses through 6 months against all vaccine-matched influenza and SARS-CoV-2 strains.

The findings come as Moderna has been vocal in its concerns about the US vaccine market now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has pulled back support for mRNA technology under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

They also come one week after Moderna and the FDA had a very messy, public back-and-forth about the FDA considering the current application for the company’s mRNA seasonal flu vaccine. 

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