UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health Part of NIH-Funded Study of Two Seasonal Flu Vaccines

Early Stage Clinical Influenza Vaccine Trial will Evaluate Vaccines With and Without Novel Adjuvants

An early-stage clinical trial is evaluating two licensed seasonal influenza vaccines, administered with or without novel adjuvants, for their safety and ability to generate an immune response. Adjuvants are compounds added to vaccines to induce stronger and longer-lasting immune responses. The Phase 1 study is enrolling healthy adult volunteers at eight sites across the United States. The trial is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza vaccination can greatly reduce the risk of infection or severe influenza-related illness that may require hospitalization. Although seasonal influenza vaccines have been widely available for decades, their effectiveness varies from year to year, depending on how well the vaccine matches the disease-causing influenza virus strains that are circulating at that time. When a person receives a vaccine containing an adjuvant, they are more likely to produce a stronger immune response to the vaccine, which may better protect them from the disease.