LSUHS researchers looking for people to help them develop a better flu vaccine

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — Researchers at LSU Health Shreveport are looking for people to help them develop a better flu vaccine.

Until mid-December, they are enrolling participants in a Phase 3 clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of the standard flu vaccine to an investigational mRNA flu vaccine.

FULL INTERVIEW:

DETAILS

• The trial is open for individuals who are at least 18 years old, are in good health or have stable chronic conditions and who have not received an influenza vaccine within the past six months.
• The study will compare the mRNA flu vaccine to standard-dose flu vaccine.
• All subjects will receive flu vaccine to protect against four strains of flu.
• The study will require one to three in-person visits to the study site over a six-month period, as well as weekly reporting of symptoms using your mobile phone or a similar device provided by the study.
• Participants who develop flu-like symptoms will be asked to swab their noses to test for influenza.
• Those who are 18-64 years old may have blood collected 2-3 times during the study.
• Participants who are 65 years old or older will not be required to give blood samples for the study.
• Participants will be reimbursed $119 per in-person visit to cover travel costs.

“Better influenza vaccines are a public health priority, as currently available flu vaccines only confer 40% to 60% protection, and the protection doesn’t carry over from year to year,” says a statement about the study.

“The flexibility of mRNA technology and its rapid manufacturing could potentially allow better strain matches in future years, reducing the number of hospitalizations and deaths resulting from the flu.”

Each year, the flu causes:

• 140,000-710,000 hospitalizations,
• 12,000-52,000 deaths, and,
• about $25 billion in economic loss in the U.S.

The impact of flu on racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. is even larger. Black Americans are 1.8 times more likely than their white counterparts to be hospitalized for flu while Latino and Indigenous Americans are 1.2 and 1.3 times more likely, respectively.

Click here to learn more about this study and enrollment. Or click here and search for study ID #NCT05540522.

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