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For many years, vaccine developers have known that several problems with current influenza vaccines – short-lived serum antibodies, lack of immunity at the site of infection, and lack of robust protection against drifted strains – contribute to their modest efficacy. Although new approaches to influenza vaccine design, manufacture and administration have been explored, none has yielded an approved vaccine that addresses all of these problems.mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives worldwide since their approval, and their importance in combatting the pandemic cannot be overemphasized. However, these vaccines are already facing the same problems as influenza vaccines. Because they protect against illness but not infection, vaccinated individuals who contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus can still shed and transmit it.
To better control both viruses and the illnesses th…