The flu vaccine that is currently being tested on humans can provide protection for up to ten years. That’s what Nobel laureate Drew Weissman, who is working on developing the vaccine, tells us.
– We are trying something unusual that no one else in the world would think of doing, because we are crazy and people know it, says Drew Weissman.
It is the mRNA method behind the vaccine, the same method that was used previously for covid vaccines, among other things, according to the radio channel.
In the past, people have had to guess what this year’s flu strains look like before the vaccine season. Something you avoid if the vaccine passes the tests and is approved for use.
In the study, by combining all 20 flu variants into a single mRNA vaccine, the research team aimed to create a vaccine that provides protection against all variants.
The results are said to have been so good that it surprised colleagues, according to the research team.
– He stormed into the room and wondered what I had done with the tests, says Drew Weissman in a statement.
The vaccine researcher: “Fully possible”
The vaccine study also does not surprise vaccine researcher Matti Sällberg, who is optimistic that it can go all the way.
– That is perfectly possible to perform on humans. It’s not weird, he says to TV4 Nyheterna.
– It is a natural development of m-RNA technology, and a step in the right direction, he continues.
However, Sällberg is a little doubtful that the protection will remain for such a long time.
– It is a bit daring to claim that the protection will stay for ten years, he says.
– It will probably provide protection against serious illness for a couple of years. But protection against infection probably does not last ten years. We have learned that from the covid vaccine. But it depends on how often you are vaccinated.
Clinical trials with the vaccine are underway, and the results will be presented next year.