“Chimeric Vaccine”: Phase I Clinical Trial Dominated by Universal Flu Vaccine – Health

Every year, doctors wonder which strain of flu will haunt people in the winter season in order to produce a suitable vaccine. Using a mixture of always the same and variable surface elements of influenza viruses, researchers in New York (USA) created a “chimeric vaccine.” It was shown against several strains in a phase I clinical study, which has now been published in the journal “Nature Medizine”.

Influenza viruses carry a protein called “hemagglutinin” on the outside, with which they adhere to human cells in order to penetrate. Most seasonal flu vaccines alert the immune system to its exposed “head” section so it can recognize and destroy the viruses it contains. But it is very different among the many tribes and is constantly changing. A team led by Austrian virus researchers Florian Krammer, Peter Palese, and Raffael Nachbagauer, conducting research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, developed a vaccine that boosts the immune system against the “strain” section of Sharpen the hemagglutinin.

“It is chimeric, which means that we have combined a strain with different head domains,” Krammer explained to the APA: “By vaccinating multiple times, but always using a different head domain, there is a strong immune response against the strain.” Until now, the trunk has not been used as a detection target because it is not as exposed as the head, and without such tricks the immune system is barely aware of it.

The chimeric vaccine has been shown to be effective and safe in a phase I clinical study in 65 people between 18 and 39 years old, the researchers report in the specialized article. The subjects showed a strong immune response against influenza viruses for at least 18 months. In the next phase of development, the vaccine will be tested in people up to 59 years of age, Krammer says.

With this vaccine, you could be protected against influenza viruses for life after two or three vaccinations, he says, “Then you would no longer need a yearly flu shot.” With the new universal vaccine, which triggers an immune response against a broad spectrum of influenza viruses, one would probably also be protected against emerging influenza subspecies (subtypes). This could prevent pandemics like the current Covid-19 in the future with influenza and prevent pandemics like the current Covid-19 in the future with influenza, Krammer said in a broadcast. Seasonal flu is a great health hazard even without the pandemic as in 1918 with 40 million deaths, after all, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 650,000 people die every year.

In addition, annual vaccination campaigns, which at least require a lot of effort and cost a lot of money, could be saved, the researchers explained. This would mainly benefit the poorest countries that barely have the money and logistics for their population to receive an annual flu vaccine.