Pfizer tests mRNA technology to build the next generation of flu shots

By adamg on Tue, 01/03/2023 - 1:56pm

GBH interviews a Brigham and Women's doctor involved in a trial of Pfizer's flu vaccine, which like its Covid-19 shots, would involve lab-built RNA designed to stimulate an immune response, a technique that could speed delivery of new vaccines.

Topics:

Technology

Free tagging:

Flu

Brigham and Women's Hospital

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Comments

So much for the negative control

By anon on Tue, 01/03/2023 - 4:00pm.

"Everybody gets a shot of a flu vaccine,” Walsh explained. “Whether it's the experimental one or the traditional one, we don't know. You don't know until the study is over.”

So when do they perform the negative control testing? Does it get the rubber stamp if it has the same (terrible) efficacy of the traditional flue shot? I mean what could go wrong?

We are being hoodwinked.

Control

By SamWack on Tue, 01/03/2023 - 7:33pm.

You seem to accept that the efficacy of the traditional flu vaccine is known; at least you claim to know it. Why do you think it does not serve as a control? The purpose of the experiment is to measure the efficacy of the new vaccine relative to the known efficacy of the existing one. That's how you do science. There is no rubber stamping involved.

You are, as you say, being hoodwinked, with your willing and eager participation, but not in the way you think, and the "we" you refer to does not include most of the rest of us.

Hoodwinked?

By Somebody Else. on Tue, 01/03/2023 - 7:40pm.

I fail to see where 'hoodwinked' comes into this. The approach described is well-established and an understood approach to trialing new therapies for which existing drugs/vaccines have already been developed.

Disingenuous questioning

By brianjdamico on Wed, 01/04/2023 - 9:03am.

Nice!

Always hilarious

By fungwah on Wed, 01/04/2023 - 12:23pm.

when people with no knowledge of how science works point to something as basic as double-blind testing as evidence of being "hoodwinked".

“So if at the beginning of

By Rwgfy on Tue, 01/03/2023 - 5:03pm.

“So if at the beginning of the season we realized, ‘Oh, you know, we should have put more attention to a particular strain that was not predicted to be the dominant one,’ then we could make a quick adjustment to the vaccine and give it to protect more people immediately," Wang said.

Is it going to be just as quick as COVID variants booster development?