A Combination COVID-Flu Vaccine May Be Just Around the Corner

Millions of Americans are making plans this fall to get their flu and COVID vaccines — two separate shots that ramp up the body’s defenses against two different viruses. But pretty soon, these same people may need only one poke instead of two for the same protection.

Vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop a combination vaccine for influenza and COVID-19, and one maker says its version could be available as early as 2025.

In a late-stage clinical trial with thousands of study participants ages 50 and older, individuals who received a combined coronavirus-influenza shot from Moderna generated a better immune response against flu and COVID-19 than participants who received the individual vaccines. What’s more, the side effects of the hybrid jab experienced during the phase 3 trial were nothing new, with the most common reactions being injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain and headache.

Pfizer-BioNTech is also working on a combination vaccine, though the team recently faced a setback when the experimental inoculation failed to meet one of the main goals of a phase 3 clinical trial. In a news release, Pfizer said “the companies are evaluating adjustments to the candidate and will discuss next steps with health authorities.” Similarly, Novavax, another COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer, has a combination COVID-flu vaccine in phase 2 clinical trials.  

Single shot could boost vaccination rates

Plenty of people have received their flu and COVID vaccines at the same time — some even in the same arm. Still, health experts are hopeful that combining the two into a single shot will increase the number of people who get vaccinated against both illnesses.

“A lot of times, people just don’t want to get two pokes at the same time, so they schedule one [vaccine] now and then have the intention to come back in a few weeks and get the second one. And then what happens, if they never get the second one, they just go without that vaccine,” says Ann Philbrick, a pharmacist and associate professor and director of community engagement in the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. A two-in-one shot “might help with completion of getting both of the vaccines,” she adds.

William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, says one jab instead of two may also appeal to more people and could potentially boost the number of individuals getting vaccinated.

Vaccination rates have been declining in recent years, national data shows. About 23 percent of adults in the U.S. received last year’s coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and less than half of adults got a flu shot last year. A new report from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases finds that only 38 percent of U.S. adults say they definitely plan to get a flu shot this year, and 26 percent plan to get the updated COVID vaccine.

Plus, Schaffner says, combining the two vaccines just makes a lot of sense. Both viruses are especially active in the fall and winter months, and the recommendations “are identical for the two vaccines,” he explains. The CDC says most people ages 6 months and older should receive a flu shot and an updated COVID vaccine this fall.