JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research has been awarded the opportunity by Pfizer to conduct trials of a bioengineered flu vaccine -- similar to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers at the clinic say it could be a game changer when it comes to preventing complications from the flu.
Dr. Alpa Patel was chosen as the lead investigator of the Pfizer mRNA flu vaccine trials. She’s a doctor of internal medicine and was previously the sub investigator of both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine studies.
“Through messenger RNA, we can give the body multiple signals and make multiple proteins at a time that can then trigger you to make a more broader immune response,” Patel said.
The doctor said the center already has a list of patients interested in the trials.
A conventional flu shot uses a dead or weaker versions of the flu from the previous flu season to force our bodies to create an immune response. By comparison, mRNA technology sends specific messages to our bodies to create an immune response -- meaning we’re not being injected with a virus.
“It actually gives your body a set of instructions that tells your body what proteins to make and that’s quickly out of your system,” Patel explained.
Patel said there is misinformation being dispersed about mRNA technology that may have led to people not wanting to get the Pfizer COVID shot, which also uses mRNA.
“One of the misconceptions I hear is, can this alter your DNA? Absolutely not,” Patel said. “It’s just using your DNA to make a protein. It never enters your cells.”
Pfizer is still working on a way to keep the flu vaccine from having to be stored at very cold temperatures like its COVID vaccine. If it doesn’t require frigid storage, it could be mass-produced and distributed much quicker that a conventional flu shot.
The trials will last up to a year and they will also determine if only one dose of the shot is needed. At least 150 volunteers will be closely monitored. Half of them will get the Pfizer shot while the others will receive a conventional flu shot.
The Center for Clinical Research will begin its trials in roughly two months.