Moderna's combo Covid and flu mRNA shot outperforms current vaccines in large trial

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

May 7, 2025, 11:02 AM EDT


Moderna’s combined Covid and flu shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines for both viruses, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s approved Covid vaccine. (There are no approved mRNA-based flu shots.)

The trial, funded by Moderna, included more than 8,000 adults ages 50 and older who were enrolled in October and November 2023. For people ages 50 to 64, the new vaccine was compared to Moderna’s Covid vaccine and the flu shot Fluarix. For people 65 and older, it was compared to the Covid vaccine and a different flu shot, called Fluzone, which is a stronger dose typically given to older adults. The trial participants either got the existing shots, or the new combination vaccine plus a placebo shot. (This way, both groups got two injections.)

The main goal of the trial was to see whether the combination vaccine generated more antibodies in blood samples than the current shots against multiple strains of influenza and the XBB.1.5 Covid variant. This so-called serological testing is a common way for researchers to gauge how well a vaccine shot might work and how long the protection might last.

The trial found that antibody levels were higher for Covid and all but one influenza strain in people who got the combination vaccine, compared to those who got the existing shots in both groups.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/modernas-combo-covid-flu-mrna-shot-outperforms-current-vaccines-large-rcna205242

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Link to PUBLICATION - Immunogenicity and Safety of Influenza and COVID-19 Multicomponent Vaccine in Adults ≥50 YearsA Randomized Clinical Trial

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. I may get this shot next fall

[tanyev]

2. Hopefully this misadministration won't go beyond discouraging vaccines

into outright banning vaccines.

[rubbersole]

12. Count on it.

They'll say because it's two shots in one it makes you bi.

[Karasu]

18. I've been wondering about that myself, and am more than willing to leave the country for that reason alone,

[blm]

4. All of my Covid shots and boosters have been Moderna.

I have, so far, avoided Covid. My husband has had it 3x. His first shot was J&J.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. My oldest was in the Pfzier trial back in August of 2020.

He is now taking the Moderna shot because it has more active material

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Same here

All Moderna - 7 shots since 2021 and so far, *KNOCK ON WOOD*, I haven't gotten it.

In fact, scarily enough, I guess because I have STILL been masking when inside public facilities (supermarket, post office, state store, food places, malls, etc., and even when I was on jury duty last year), I haven't had an old-fashioned "head cold" since 2019 - which is just insane for me because I usually get a couple colds per year. The downside though is that it feels like my resistance to stuff has dropped precipitously (e.g., some of the allergies that I used to have when I was a kid, have come roaring back and that has triggered the asthma).

Have been waiting for the combo COVID-Flu one. I did my last COVID shots with a flu shot at the same time these past 2 fall seasons.

[blm]

7. lol, I knock on wood, too

[LiberalArkie]

10. I had a stuffy nose and a very low fever and tested positive

I went to bed feeling lousy and woke up a few hours later feeling great..Tested again negative. Went for a jog

Pharmacist said that is how it is

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Well I had ended up in the hospital with pneumonia

right at the end of the swine flu pandemic in 2010 so I don't want to ever go through that again!

[LiberalArkie]

22. Oh I would have also.. I almost had to go to hospital with pneumonia years ago. That is why I am now vaxed with crap

I don't even know. If there is a vax, I get it.

I was fully covid vaxed and my pharmacist told me that was what was supposed to happen if the vaccination was good. It won't stop a person from coming down with it, but the person may not even realize they had it.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

14. So have mine, knock on wood.

In the 4 years I have had the vaccines and boosters, I have not gotten COVID but twice, with nary a few sniffles. That is it.

[Akakoji]

13. How?

This was not a placebo controlled trial, and RFK Jr said all Covid vaccines must have placebo arms now. Unless of course you live outside the US.

[ShazzieB]

21. Oh brother.

Who's going to sign up to be a guinea pig in a double blind study where you could get a placebo instead of a real vaccine and never know which it is? I know I wouldn't.

Double blind studies are fine, even necessary, for some things, but for a vaccine, it sounds like Russian roulette, especially for old coots like me who are already higher risk for everything!

A pox on RFK Jr and his antivaxx insanity!

P.S. I'm trying to cut down on my use of the F word, so I'm wishing a pox on people like him these days instead.

[Akakoji]

35. I was friends with Jonas Salk

There was a time in this country try, unfortunately re-emerging, when you didn't have to tell anyone anything. People in the military were infected with all kinds of things, or different drugs were tested on them. Jonas notoriously tested his vaccine with polio virus particles on a boarding house of kids and adults with what was then called mental retardation, catch all phrase for people with Asperger's or Down's Syndrome, autism, and all the neurodivergent spectrum they just didn't care enough to care for. When that became out of favor in the US, drug companies just took it to Africa and other countries to experiment on poor people and prisoners. Sometimes they sold it as the only "health care" they would receive anyway.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. I hope it gets produced past the trial. ...

Full disclosure: I didn't read the entire article. So, illuminate me if I'm being stupid. Please.

❤️

[BumRushDaShow]

8. That'll be up to the host body of the brain worm

Per the article, they weren't expecting to have their application ready until next year (and then brain worm host has added extra nonsensical and redundant hurdles, so... ) -

(snip)

The data is expected to be used to support Moderna’s application to the FDA for approval. Last week, Moderna said it doesn’t expect regulatory approval for its combination shot until 2026, after the agency said it required late-stage data showing the shot’s efficacy against the flu.

It’s unclear whether the agency’s new rule that all new vaccines will need to undergo placebo-controlled clinical trials to gain approval will apply to the combination shot. The FDA already delayed Novavax's Covid vaccine, requiring an additional clinical trial, and may impose the requirement for Pfizer’s and Moderna’s updated Covid vaccines for the fall.

(snip)

Moderna's mRNA flu shot is brand new and hasn't been released yet in any case and for this use, would be in combo with their COVID shot.

[littlemissmartypants]

17. Thanks so much, BRDS! ...

...the host body of the brain worm...

Is my new favorite referent for what I think of as a lunatic but that doesn't really capture him as well as what you’re using.

We are on a similar wave length though...
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20290310

Thanks again!



❤️

[BumRushDaShow]

23. LOL

I think his is a Sandworm from Dune!

[littlemissmartypants]

27. That's a very serious problem! 😁 🤭

For those unfamiliar "... the sandworm can grow up to 131 feet in diameter and 1,300 feet long." *

I think I'd rather have the Sandworm in charge of HHS, to be honest.

❤️

*Fun Fact: Dune by Frank Herbert

[BumRushDaShow]

28. ...

[littlemissmartypants]

29. Snort

[Akakoji]

36. We are all being forced to participate in a herd immunity study

That we know will already fail. We are way past that point. Someone needs to start bringing lawsuits against the actions of RFK Jr.

[DENVERPOPS]

9. Get it out there

..........That way, all of us can get the shot, and let the Republican MAGAot, Anti-vaxer Morons, get wiped out....

[Karasu]

20. Only problem is those anti-science dumbfucks are currently the ones running HHS.

[Warpy]

15. Not surprised in the least

mRNA shots by Pfizer and Moderna consistently outperformed the traditional vaccine developed by Johnson and Johnson during the pandemic. I think people were initially shocked that it worked as well in people as it had for years as a test tube short cut.

Yes, I'll be getting this one. Preventing two nasty diseases with one jab is a win-win.

[ShazzieB]

19. I'll be getting it, too...

Assuming it's approved and available next fall. If I know BWB (Brain Worm Boy), it may not be. We'll all just have to hope!

[Lonestarblue]

16. Does this new version need new FDA approval?

With Kennedy in charge, new vaccines may not be approved.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. Yes

See this for some clarification (additional excerpts from the OP article) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3454984

[JohnSJ]

25. I wouldn't count on it coming here anytime soon with FDA Prasad and rfk jr, and potential SG Means.

In fact Moderna may have trouble even surviving as a company with the clowns who are in charge now.

[BidenRocks]

26. THEY have the vaccine.

Tax, tariffs and regulatory charges will make it $1000 a shot, not covered by insurance.
Just because a cure or prevention exists, doesn't mean YOU can get it!
Chump wants us dead. The Covid deaths were just a beginning.
People like to die!

[ornotna]

30. Sign me up

I'm due for a booster. Sounds promising.

[Wolf Frankula]

31. But Bobbers the Junkie will say you should

only inject heroin. Buy it from him.

Wolf

[IbogaProject]

32. I'm in the NovaVax combo trial

When my year is finished I may seek whichever is out.

[liberalla]

33. All my covid vaccines have been Moderna. I've felt very good about that and hope

I can continue on with this new combo one in the fall.

[soldierant]

34. The post doesn't spell this out, but

being made with RNA technology and used in combination with CoViD sounds as though it may not be cultured in eggs - to which I am allergic, which is why I don't get flu shots. If this doesn't have egg in it, I want it. I see my PCP next week and will run this by her. I did get CoVid shot last fall but of course not flu.

[SunSeeker]

38. Please let us know what your PCP says!

[soldierant]

45. I shall. Also see BumRushDaShow comment below

[soldierant]

51. Saw my PCP yesterday -

She is all for it, both of them, but is part of a large group and doesn't do the ordering, so it may not be obtainable for us. We'll see f and when they are obtainable what can be done.

Large groups like that order mostly by price. Ao the price of eggs could conceivably turn out to be a blessing, at least for some of us. Although I just read eggs are down in price right now by 12.7%. So maybe not.

[BumRushDaShow]

39. One of the points of mRNA is that it doesn't NEED eggs!

The whole "egg" thing, which has been how the more traditional vaccines are cultured, was one of the things that this tech tried to be an alternative to. By not requiring the eggs, the mRNA vaccines can be manufactured much faster and the actual manufacture can occur later in the year ahead of the fall season, allowing more time to determine what variant is circulating the most as the one selected to go with. Moderna and Pfizer have been working on mRNA flu shots for a few years.

J Virol. 2022 Dec 19;97(1):e01723-22. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01723-22

Nucleoside-Modified mRNA-Based Influenza Vaccines Circumvent Problems Associated with H3N2 Vaccine Strain Egg Adaptation

(snip)

ABSTRACT

Most human influenza vaccine antigens are produced in fertilized chicken eggs. Recent H3N2 egg-based vaccine antigens have limited effectiveness, partially due to egg-adaptive substitutions that alter the antigenicity of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. The nucleoside-modified mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNP) vaccine platform is a promising alternative for egg-based influenza vaccines because mRNA-LNP-derived antigens are not subject to adaptive pressures that arise during the production of antigens in chicken eggs.

(snip)

ALSO REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143254580

Moderna trial info - https://trials.modernatx.com/study/?id=mRNA-1083-P301

NIH publication - mRNA-based seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2 multicomponent vaccine in healthy adults: a phase 1/2 trial

[soldierant]

44. That' what I vaguely thought,

but bioscience is not one of my fields, and I hadn't been watching that closely.

Thank you. So now all I need to know is when will it be availabe.

[BumRushDaShow]

46. I'm a retired chemist who used to work for a HHS agency

and had been following the progress of the vaccine approvals (and posting LBN OPs) during the heart of the pandemic.

Because of not needing eggs in the manufacture, they can actually wait much longer - even as late as early summer, to nail down the circulating variant before starting production for the fall season, whereas the production of egg-cultured vaccines takes much longer, and thus the decision on the variant needs to happen by around April in order to get the production underway to have the vaccine ready for the fall season. In that latter case, there is a higher chance to get the variant "wrong" because of the required long lead time to get a finished vaccine.

Moderna doesn't expect it to be ready for review/approval until at least 2026, so still have to wait at this point.

[soldierant]

49. Thanks!

[womanofthehills]

48. There is one flu shot not make from eggs

“This Flu Shot Is Not Like the Others “

TIME magazine
This Flu Shot Is Not Like the Others

BY ALICE PARK
OCTOBER 30, 2014 12:15 PM EDT
This year Novartis shipped its first full batch of Flucelvax, a new vaccine that was only approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012. The company made a limited amount of the shot last year, but there are more doses to go around this flu season. And for the first time, the doses were made at the company’s newly approved U.S. plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina.
The vaccine is made without growing the influenza virus in chicken eggs, which is the way that flu shots were made for more than four decades. Instead, Flucelvax is grown in kidney cells from dogs. The technology means that the shot can be made in less time than a traditional flu shot—enough virus can be churned out in about 65 hours to 75 hours, compared to the six months or so it takes to grow in chicken eggs. It also means that people who are allergic to eggs now have another option for getting immunized against the flu.

https://time.com/3548419/flu-shot-flucelvax/

[soldierant]

50. Thanks. I'll save that information.

Especicially since BumRushDaShow, who has the credentials to know, says Moderna doesn't expect theirs to be ready until 2026.

[SunSeeker]

37. I'll be getting it for sure...if that anti-vaxx idiot RFK Jr. doesn't block it.

[Martin68]

40. RFK will try to prevent its release with new testing "standards."

[BradBo]

41. The new FDA chief is gonna delay it.

“The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday is raising doubts about the need for COVID booster shots for all Americans and questioned the success of past clinical trials, after earlier suggesting the shots might not be approved for next winter. Via Huff Post”
MAGA trash. Hes gonna kill people.

[Montauk6]

42. Yah but will Gargles The Clown let it go through?

[Hekate]

43. Good to know

[samplegirl]

47. Great I just

got the pfisser shot yesterday!