Pfizer's mRNA flu shot outperforms standard flu vaccine in late-stage trial
Source: NBC News
Nov. 19, 2025, 5:02 PM EST
Pfizer’s mRNA flu vaccine outperformed the standard flu shot in a Phase 3 clinical trial, according to results published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Pfizer’s Covid shot. Ever since the mRNA Covid vaccines were approved in 2020, experts have looked at flu as one of the next logical applications for the technology. No country has approved an mRNA flu vaccine.
Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said Pfizer’s mRNA flu vaccine could be “a game-changer,” potentially providing a closer match to the strains in any given flu season. One big reason flu shots aren’t as effective as they can be is because they aren’t a good match for the circulating virus.
Because it takes months to manufacture a traditional flu shot, Creech said, scientists must choose the strains to include in the vaccine about six to eight months before flu season begins. Developing an mRNA shot is typically faster, which could allow those decisions to be made later in the year — and give scientists more flexibility to pivot if the circulating strain changes.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pfizers-mrna-flu-shot-outperforms-standard-flu-vaccine-late-stage-tria-rcna244814
Link to New England Journal of Medication PUBLICATION - Efficacy, Immunogenicity, and Safety of Modified mRNA Influenza Vaccine
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