AMS, flu could be a big problem this year
Pfizer and Moderna begin clinical trials of mRNA-based influenza vaccine
With the corona virus still raging, the turning season has begun. In cold weather, dry air, and the changing seasons when the temperature changes rapidly, it is easy to catch the flu. Due to the corona virus, even if you cough even a little, it is a disappointment to catch the flu accompanied by a cough at this time when people around you look at you with stinging eyes.
In this winter, concerns are growing about the ‘Twindemic’, in which the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and influenza (flu) are prevalent at the same time. The Economist, a leading British weekly news magazine, cited experts and warned that the flu season did not happen last winter, which fortunately did not have a flu-like situation, but that this year’s flu season could be worse. filed
Seasonal influenza is caused by a group of viruses that circulate around the world that occur in humans, mammals, birds, etc. It usually begins in October in the Northern Hemisphere and around May in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the absence of COVID-19, the World Health Organization collected new mutations and spread trend data from each country and made recommendations to experts in February and September to predict the flu virus that will be prevalent that year. The problem is that it is difficult to predict the flu epidemic this winter due to the lack of data because the flu epidemic disappeared last year due to global social distancing, wearing a mask, and a great lockdown.
The British Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) predicts that flu vaccines will be less effective because there is a lack of data on the flu virus that will be circulating this year. AMS also warned that the flu could cause major problems when it starts to spread, as the disappearance of last year’s flu season did not build up to people’s immunity to the flu virus.
Researchers at The Oxford University in the UK have predicted that flu symptoms this year could be as long-lasting as COVID-19.
The development and production of a pandemic influenza vaccine based on data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) takes at least six months, and the effectiveness of the vaccine depends on how well it predicts the virus species that will be epidemic. However, from September last year to January this year, the global flu test positive rate was only 0.2%, which is very low compared to the average annual average of 17%. The flu vaccine is less effective than the COVID-19 vaccine, and it is 70% effective in healthy adults and 50% in the elderly.
Currently, Pfizer and Moderna have started clinical trials of an mRNA-based flu vaccine using the technology they applied to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. A Pfizer official said that the development of the mRNA vaccine was to improve the flu vaccine, which currently has a 40 to 60 percent preventative effect.
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