Researchers from Duke University are developing a flu shot with the new technology that was used for two coronavirus vaccines.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna shots use part of the virus’s genetic code called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to get the body to recognize the pathogen and attack if a person becomes infected.
What’s more, people will be able to get the new shot every four or five years rather than annually.
A new version of the flu shot is being developed by researchers at Duke University that would be able to target all influenza strains rather than certain ones, like the current shot does© Provided by Daily Mail The new shot uses new mRNA technology – used for the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna coronavirus shots – and involves getting the body to recognize the virus through part of its virus’s genetic code, and then attacking if a person becomes infected
‘We actually just completed in the past two weeks the manufacture of a messenger RNA vaccine for influenza that should have broad reactivity across many different strains to make a universal flu vaccine,’ Dr Barton Haynes, director for the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, told Nexstar.
To make flu vaccines, officials from the World Health Organization choose the strains for the Northern Hemisphere’s shot in February, and those for the Southern Hemisphere in September or October.
The flu vaccine comes in the form of a shot or a nasal spray. For those who choose to go with the injectable, there are two options.
The first is a trivalent vaccine, which protects against two influenza A strains, H1N1 and H3N2, and one influenza B strain.
The second option, the quadrivalent flu vaccine, protects against the same strains as the trivalent vaccine, as well as an extra influenza B virus.
For those with egg allergies or who prefer not to have a shot, there is a nasal spray, known as FluMist.
It uses live, weakened viruses which are meant to teach the body to recognize and ward off flu strains if you become infected.
Haynes told Nexstar that, rather than guessing which strains will be prevalent during the season, the new vaccine will be able to target all strains.
Image Credit: Daily Mail
Post by Amanda Scott, NA CEO. Follow her on twitter @tantriclens
Thanks to Heinz V. Hoenen. Follow him on twitter: @HeinzVHoenen
News
Novel Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer Uses a Nano-Carrier to Deliver Chinese Medicine
Researchers from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), in collaboration with Cornell University, have developed a novel targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) that uses a specially-designed nano-carrier to deliver the Chinese medicine compound [...]
Efficiently smuggling drugs into cells
Modern vaccines such as those against Sars-CoV-2 use tiny lipid spheres to transport genetic information into cells and let the body build up an immune defense against the virus. A team of scientists from [...]
B.C.’s biotech sector plays key role in developing COVID-19 treatments and vaccines
By early 2020, concern was mounting about a new, deadly coronavirus first detected in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization had declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency just days before. There had been [...]
Graphene-coated Face Masks: COVID-19 Miracle or Another Health Risk?
As a COVID-19 and medical device researcher, I understand the importance of face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. So I am intrigued that some mask manufacturers have begun adding graphene coatings [...]
Scientists Uncover Nanoplastics and Other Pollutants Released from Disposable Face Masks
Swansea University scientists have uncovered potentially dangerous chemical pollutants that are released from disposable face masks when submerged in water. The research reveals high levels of pollutants, including lead, antimony, and copper, within the [...]
Nanotechnology offers new hope for bowel cancer patients
Bowel cancer survival rates could be improved if chemotherapy drugs were delivered via tiny nanoparticles to the diseased organs rather than oral treatment. That's the finding from Indian and Australian scientists who have undertaken [...]
Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pill could be available by year’s end
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says his company’s experimental COVID-19 treatment, a pill that can be taken at the first sign of the illness, could be available before the end of the year. Speaking on CNBC, Bourla said clinical [...]
New “Nanotraps” Could Capture and Destroy Coronavirus Within the Body
At the University of Chicago, scientists have developed an absolutely innovative, promising treatment for COVID-19 in the form of nanoparticles with the ability to trap SARS-CoV-2 viruses inside the body and use the body’s [...]
Nanobodies inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, including emergent variants
Australian researchers have identified neutralizing nanobodies that block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells in preclinical models. The discovery paves the way for further investigations into nanobody-based treatments for COVID-19. Published in PNAS, the research [...]
DNA robots designed in minutes instead of days
Someday, scientists believe, tiny DNA-based robots and other nanodevices will deliver medicine inside our bodies, detect the presence of deadly pathogens, and help manufacture increasingly smaller electronics. Researchers took a big step toward that [...]
Scientists’ horror over ‘escape mutation’ of new COVID strain
Experts have discovered what they believe is the world’s most mutated COVID strain – and there’s one detail in particular that has scientists worried. Scientists have detected what is believed to be the world’s [...]
Coronavirus Does Not Infect the Brain but Still Inflicts Damage
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, likely does not directly infect the brain but can still inflict significant neurological damage, according to a new study from neuropathologists, neurologists, and neuroradiologists at Columbia University Vagelos [...]
Research finds a potential new ‘silver bullet’ nanoparticle to treat brain cancer
ANSTO has contributed to a comprehensive investigation of a promising type of nanoparticle that could potentially be used for intractable brain cancers in a combined therapy. The study, which was led by Dr. Moeava [...]
Trial to study effect of immune system on Covid reinfection
The immune response needed to protect people against reinfection with the coronavirus will be explored in a new human challenge trial, researchers have revealed. Human challenge trials involve deliberately exposing healthy people to a [...]
Duke working on developing flu shot using new CoV vaccine technology
Researchers from Duke University are developing a flu shot with the new technology that was used for two coronavirus vaccines. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna shots use part of the virus's genetic code [...]
Long-acting injectable medicine as potential route to COVID-19 therapy
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have shown the potential of repurposing an existing and cheap drug into a long-acting injectable therapy that could be used to treat Covid-19. In a paper published in the journal Nanoscale, [...]
