Adolfo García-Sastre

A clinical trial funded by Pfizer has tested a new influenza vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA). The phase 3 trial included more than 18,000 people aged 18 to 64, half of whom received the new compound and the other half a conventional vaccine. The results indicate that the mRNA vaccine was more effective, but it also caused more adverse reactions: for example, 5.6% of the volunteers who received it developed a fever, compared to 1.7% of those who received the conventional vaccine. The study is published in the journal NEJM. 

A team of researchers from the USA has analyzed the B lymphocytes of seven healthy people in whom no exposure to H5 influenza viruses, such as the avian flu virus, had been documented. The results show that they present antibodies capable of recognizing this type of virus, which, according to the authors, could represent “a first line of defense” in the event of a pandemic. The results are published in the journal Science Immunology.

A study published in the journal Science reports preclinical results of a new vaccine model that is intended to work against all types of influenza. The prototype, which uses mRNA-based technology, includes antigens from all 20 known influenza subtypes.