A new combined flu and Covid vaccine could be approved for NHS use this year following clinical trials. New data from clinical trials held by Covid vaccine creator Moderna suggests combined jabs provoke a higher immune response than separate single jabs. The results raise hopes the new vaccine could be approved by regulators this year, with the possibility of it being rolled out on the NHS .
Most recent data showd more than 1,300 people were hospitalised with Covid. At the moment, Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine for Covid-19 is used in the NHS booster programmes, alongside Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty. A newer version of Spikevax has been created and tested by Moderna which includes a dose of flu vaccine.
The combination means people would only need one jab rather than two, as at the moment, to give them full protection against Covid-19 and flu. This is the first time final phase 3 data for a combined vaccine has been published by any firm. The news comes after high-street pharmacies this year began providing the Pfizer /BioNTech Covid vaccine over the counter.
The most recent data published by NHS England on Covid hospital admissions showed as of 31 March 2024, 1,384 hospital beds were filled with suspected Covid patients - compared to 2,780 confirmed patients in March 2023. In the week up to the 29 May, 1,604 community cases of Covid-19 were reported by the UK Health Security Agency. Any new vaccine would first have to be approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare Produ.