Great to see this study based on a ferret challenge model showing that an mRNA-based influenza vaccine targeting highly pathogenic H5N1 protected animals against lethal infection. In the event of a large outbreak in humans we will need scalable vaccine platforms.🧪
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.ads1273?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=alert&utm_campaign=STMeToc&et_rid=1007091013&et_cid=5468624
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.ads1273?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=alert&utm_campaign=STMeToc&et_rid=1007091013&et_cid=5468624
Comments
Fertilized chicken eggs (10–12 days old) are sourced from specialized farms. These eggs are incubated and inspected for quality. Candidate vaccine viruses are injected into the allantoic cavity of each egg to replicate.
Regulatory agencies like the FDA review the results. This requires a large supply of eggs (~1 egg per vaccine dose).
Takes a long time (6–9 months). Some flu strains mutate when grown in eggs, which may reduce vaccine effectiveness.