A newly approved flu vaccine based on mRNA technology will provide better protection than traditional flu vaccines, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire.
Corbett-Helaire, assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases, was quoted about the benefits of the new vaccine in an August 7 GBH article. She said it trains people’s immune systems more effectively.
“Think of it like a picture,” she said. “If I saw a picture of your face, it could be blurry or it could be high definition. So, typically mRNA presents proteins to the body in a very high-definition way, so the immune system is very clear on what it’s going to protect.”
The new vaccine—the first-ever flu vaccine based on mRNA technology—is called mFLUSIVA and was produced by the drug company Moderna. The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine on August 6 for people age 50 and older. Previously, it had received accelerated approval for those age 65 and older.
“It really lets us know that vaccines that we’ve been taking for years and years and years, like the flu vaccine—there are potentially new and revolutionary ways that we can improve upon those vaccines,” Corbett-Helaire told GBH.
In her previous role at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, Corbett-Helaire played a key role in helping develop the mRNA-based vaccines for COVID-19.
Read the GBH article: Mass. health experts explain why Moderna’s new flu vaccine is ‘more accurate’ than current ones
