Why am I asking?
I recently contacted my colleague at her workplace to discover that she had been bedridden with a chest infection for two weeks. She was always a fitness fanatic prior to lockdown with almost daily gym visits but all that changed after each Covid-19 jab that she had in her 40s, one of which gave her a severe chest infection althoughafter each, her health was impacted. 🤔
Imagine my surprise to learn that she had had a flu jab this time and an incapacitating chest infection as a result.
Let's take a look at Pfizer's website. I'm finding these days articles on websites left undated and this particular article is no exception.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, messenger RNA, or mRNA, has been in the spotlight for the critical role it’s playing in the first-ever approved mRNA vaccine.1 But in fact, Pfizer and BioNTech had entered into a worldwide collaboration agreement in 2018 to work on an mRNA vaccine for a different virus.
“Pfizer's first partnership with BioNTech was to look at ways to develop a more effective flu vaccine,” says John McLaughlin, who is Vice President, COVID-19/Flu Vaccines & Antivirals Lead with Pfizer.
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Unlocking the potential of an mRNA flu vaccine
mRNA vaccines, which have been in research and development for decades,5 can be made quickly and in large batches in a laboratory.5 Rather than using the virus itself, mRNA vaccines use the genetic code of a virus. That genetic code instructs the body to make proteins (called antibodies), which can help protect people from getting sick or experiencing serious illness.5
This could be a game-changer for a flu vaccine, says Verna Welch, Senior Director, mRNA Pipeline (Non-COVID) Medical and Scientific Affairs Lead. By using mRNA technology, scientists may be able to develop and manufacture the flu vaccine faster. This is, in part, because they wouldn’t have to grow the cells to make the vaccines. “If we use mRNA technology, then we may be able to develop the vaccine closer to flu season,” she says. “And therefore, we're able to better match it with the circulating viruses avoiding vaccine mismatch.”
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