Moderna had designed on releasing a combined influenza and covid-19 vaccine after some promising trials, but this week the drugmaker said it would withdraw its application seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the time being, according to a report from Reuters—the latest indication that Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism has fully infected the federal government.
Moderna hasn’t completely abandoned combo shoots – it plans to test the effectiveness of new treatments after it collects more data from its Phase III trial later this year compared to existing options. However, the receptors of the dual vaccine produce the same or greater immune response compared to a given vaccine alone, and the early indicators of their trials are positive. But for the time being, the company is retreating and won’t be approved until at least 2026.
The FDA announced that it would require a new clinical trial one day after the company decided to make the brakes the day after the day. They are designed to resolve the circulating strains of Covid-19.
This new limitation has had an impact. Last week, Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine shot was approved, more than a month later than the initial approval deadline, but the FDA has limited opportunities for people over 65 years and people between the ages of 12 and 64 have at least one potential condition that puts them at a serious risk of Covid-19 infection.
The agency also requested that existing Covid-19 vaccines have an extended warning label for risk of myocarditis or cardiac inflammation. This is a potential side effect of the vaccine, but several studies have found that experiencing COVID-19 can put young people at a higher risk of developing myocarditis than they would receive the vaccine.
