Moderna enters clinical trials for its mRNA-based flu vaccine

Moderna has injected its mRNA-derived vaccine for the seasonal flu into a human volunteer for the first time as part of a Phase 1/2 clinical study, the company announced on Wednesday. 

This is a very early test for the new vaccine technology, geared primarily towards building a baseline understanding of the treatment's "safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity," according to a Moderna release. mRNA-1010, as the vaccine has been dubbed, is designed to be effective against the four most common strains of the virus including, A H1N1, H3N2, influenza B Yamagata and influenza B Victoria. 

According to the World Health Organization, these strains cause between 3 and 5 million severe cases of flu every year, resulting in as many as 650,000 flu-related respiratory deaths annually. In the US alone, roughly 8 percent of the population comes down with the flu every winter. The company hopes this vaccine will prove more potent than the current 40 to 60 percent efficacy rate of conventional flu vaccines.  

“We are pleased to have begun this Phase 1/2 study of mRNA-1010, our first mRNA seasonal flu vaccine candidate to enter the clinic. We expect that our seasonal influenza vaccine candidates will be an important component of our future combination respiratory vaccines,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said. “Respiratory combination vaccines are an important pillar of our overall mRNA vaccine strategy. We believe that the advantages of mRNA vaccines include the ability to combine different antigens to protect against multiple viruses and the ability to rapidly respond to the evolution of respiratory viruses, such as influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV. Our vision is to develop an mRNA combination vaccine so that people can get one shot each fall for high efficacy protection against the most problematic respiratory viruses."

This vaccine has been generated using the same genomic techniques the company utilized to develop its COVID-19 treatment in 2020. The technique works by exploiting the human body's own cells to reproduce snippets of viral DNA to instigate an immune response and prime the body against future infection. Since this method doesn't require the entire virus (either weakened or dead) but rather just a birt of its genetic code, mRNA vaccines could be applied to any number of deadly modern diseases including malaria, TB — even cancer.  

The first US COVID-19 app built on Apple and Google tracking tech is here

The Virginia Department of Health has launched COVIDWISE, an app that uses Apple and Google’s COVID-19 contact tracing technology to track coronavirus cases and notify users when they may have been exposed. State officials had been beta testing the a...

Pepper the robot can politely suggest you wear a damn mask

We’ve seen Pepper, the cutesy robotic butler, provide customer service, offer info at train stations, sell smartphones and take your Pizza Hut order. Now, Pepper has a new public health mission. The humanoid is scanning faces to determine whether peo...

Apple and Google’s COVID-19 contact tracing tech is ready

Today, Apple and Google are releasing their COVID-19 contact tracing technology to public health agencies (PHAs) around the world. So far, 22 countries on five continents have requested the API, which will allow PHAs to develop their own contact trac...

FBI accuses China of attempting to steal US COVID-19 research

Today, the FBI warned that China-backed hackers are attempting to steal COVID-19 research from organizations in the US. In a joint statement, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced that they have observed state-...

Facebook and Google are fighting coronavirus misinformation

Google and Facebook are attempting to stay ahead of coronavirus misinformation and to provide users with helpful, accurate resources. Today, Facebook announced plans to flag and remove false information, and Google has created an SOS Alert for corona...

The EU just approved a vaccine to prevent Ebola

Today, the European Union granted an Ebola vaccine "conditional marketing authorization." The vaccine, developed by the pharmaceutical giant Merck, is known as Ervebo. It's the first human Ebola vaccine to be approved by the EU.

The FTC is reportedly investigating Juul’s teen marketing tactics

Juul is facing yet another investigation. This time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into the company's marketing practices. It will decide whether Juul used deceptive marketing, including targeting minors and using social media influen...

Fitbit will play a key role in Singapore’s public health program

Never mind getting a fitness tracker through your insurance company -- in Singapore, the government will encourage you to get one. Fitbit has unveiled a partnership with Singapore's Health Promotion Board on an initiative, Live Healthy SG, that will...