Moderna’s two-in-one flu and Covid vaccine passes advanced trial

Chief executive Stephane Bancel told BBC News he hoped the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine could be made widely available in 2026 – or perhaps, 2025.

“We are very delighted about the results, because it’s the first time in the world that a company is able to show positive phase-three results combining in a single dose flu and Covid vaccine,” he said.

“You get one dose, one needle,” which meant “ease and peace of mind for the consumer”.

Competitors Pfizer and BioNTech are testing a similar two-in-one mRNA vaccine against flu and Covid.

Scientists hope mRNA vaccines will be faster to make and update than the current ones used against flu, and be a better match for ever-changing strains, external.

In the continuing Moderna trial, external, the mRNA-1083 jab produced a higher immune response than the licensed comparator vaccines.

It matched or bettered currently approved flu jabs, including high-dose ones designed for older people.

And it was better than Moderna’s existing Covid booster, Spikevax, at making the body produce disease-fighting antibodies – probably because it had been designed to fight more recent variants circulating around the world, Mr Bancel told BBC News in an interview.