Researchers are working on a kind of “universal flu vaccine” that includes as many variants of pathogens as possible. The first tests on 52 subjects were promising. The results show “that the H1ssF vaccine is safe, well tolerated and immunogenic,” the researchers are pleased to report.
Every year, doctors and vaccine developers discuss which flu strain will be dominant in order to produce the most suitable vaccine possible. For the upcoming flu season 2023/2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises to focus on four flu strains in the composition of the vaccine.
Among them this year is an influenza virus strain from Austria from the year 2021 (B/Austria/1359417/2021). Of course this is just a recommendation. If the research community is wrong, vaccination may flatten the annual waves less than hoped.
More than 1000 deaths per year in Austria
In the United States, flu has killed between 12,000 and 52,000 people each year for the past decade. According to the Ministry of Health, there are on average more than 1,000 deaths per year in Austria.
Hardly any side effects after vaccination
The majority of the 52 subjects between the ages of 18 and 70 received two doses of the vaccine 16 weeks apart. “The results show that the H1ssF vaccine is safe, well tolerated and immunogenic,” the researchers write. There were hardly any side effects such as headaches in the test subjects. The vaccine elicited a strong and long-lasting antibody response, mainly neutralizing the “Group 1” flu viruses. This group includes subtypes H1, H2 or H5.
It was significantly less pronounced in “Group 2”, which includes H3 or H10 flu viruses, for example. There was no neutralizing effect in these two subtypes.
The effectiveness could also be increased further with booster substances, so-called adjuvants. All in all, the scientists believe in the benefits of their nanoparticle vaccine based on the protein ferritin, as it does not depend on the time-consuming production in chicken eggs. In addition, the active ingredients can be quickly adjusted if the pathogen changes more significantly in the course of an epidemic.
Source: Krone
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