Flu shots already target 4 strains. The size of mRNA vaccines are so small that they could put 100 in one shot, but could the immune system handle it? But the short development time of mRNA vaccines means that they can target better. The same should be true of recombinant protein vaccines—the real promise of mRNA is that it’s new and sexy and the FDA will let them try. But targeting is only a small part of the flu vaccine problem. Good targeting raises the effectiveness from 30% in mismatch years to 50% in match years. The problem is the flu vaccine isn’t that good even when it is matched.
Flu shots already target 4 strains. The size of mRNA vaccines are so small that they could put 100 in one shot, but could the immune system handle it? But the short development time of mRNA vaccines means that they can target better. The same should be true of recombinant protein vaccines—the real promise of mRNA is that it’s new and sexy and the FDA will let them try. But targeting is only a small part of the flu vaccine problem. Good targeting raises the effectiveness from 30% in mismatch years to 50% in match years. The problem is the flu vaccine isn’t that good even when it is matched.