Co-Administration of COVID-19, Flu Vaccine Yields Promising Results

Preprint data has been published from the first phase 3 trial to demonstrate efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a COVID-19 vaccine co-administered with a seasonal influenza (flu) vaccine.

The findings from a collaborative sub-study assessment between Novavax and Seqirus show the former’s recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373 and 2 of the latter’s seasonal flu vaccines had preserved immune efficacy in administered volunteers versus placebo, without observed new safety concerns and adverse events similar to those associated with each individual vaccine.

The trial included 431 volunteers from the UK being randomized 1:1 to either investigative NVX-CoV2372 plus adjuvanted trivalent or cell-based quadrivalent flu vaccine, or placebo.

In an interview with Contagion regarding the findings, study co-author Raja Rajaran, Medical Affairs Led of EMEA at Seqirus, highlighted the impact of a COVID-19 and flu vaccine co-administration going into the 2021-22 flu season.

As Rajaran noted, experts and peers have begun speaking confidently to the conception that COVID-19 will remain active in the global population for “at least a few years,” due to circulating variants.

“Would we call that seasonal endemic, or what we would call what will happen in the next few years is a matter of debate,” Rajaran said. “I don’t think there’s a straightforward answer, but we will have COVID-19 circulating for the next few years, and one of the concerns is that when you open the travel up and reduce the social distancing measures, then flu can also emerge.”

Rajaran also discuss how the global population’s lack of exposure to overall viruses has created a “danger” to flu exposure and severity going forward.