Bartley JM, Cadar AN, Martin DE. Better, Faster, Stronger: mRNA Vaccines Show Promise for Influenza Vaccination in Older Adults. Immunol Invest. 2021 Apr 8:1-11
Older adults have diminished immune responses that lead to increased susceptibility and severity of infectious diseases. Influenza is a leading killer of older adults despite the availability of seasonal influenza vaccination. Influenza vaccines are strain specific, and their efficacy varies greatly year to year based on how well the vaccine virus matches the circulating strains. Additionally, older adults have reduced vaccination responses. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the increased mortality rate in older adults for infectious disease, and brought vaccine development to the forefront. The speed of vaccine development was met with an equally impressive vaccine efficacy. Interestingly, both mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines currently available have shown similar efficacy in both young and older adults. mRNA vaccine production has significantly reduced the production timeline compared to current influenza vaccines, making them particularly attractive for influenza vaccine development. Faster production coupled with improved efficacy would be a tremendous advancement in protecting older adults from influenza morbidity and mortality.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Influenza hijacks myeloid cells to inflict type-I interferon-fueled damage in the heart 26 minute(s) ago
- MHC class II functions as a host-specific entry receptor for representative human and swine H3N2 influenza A viruses 27 minute(s) ago
- Longitudinal Surveillance of Influenza A Virus Exposure in Wild Boars (Sus scrofa) in Spain (2015-2023): Serologic and Virologic Evidence of Subtype Infections and H5N1 Spillover Risk 29 minute(s) ago
- [preprint]Emergence and antigenic characterisation of influenza A(H3N2) viruses with hemagglutinin substitutions N158K and K189R during the 2024/25 influenza season 20 hours ago
- Epitope specificity shapes the CD4+ T cell response to influenza virus infection in mice 20 hours ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


