The reason the Covid-19 vaccines were developed so quickly is that they used a new, much faster and easier-to-create type of vaccine technology, based on messenger RNA, or mRNA. What’s even more exciting is that we now have an overwhelming amount of evidence, from real-world experience, that these vaccines are remarkably safe and effective.
An mRNA vaccine for flu would be far cheaper to manufacture, not requiring huge chicken farms. (This year, 82% of flu doses in the U.S. were made this way.) Even more important, though, is that an mRNA vaccine for flu would likely be far more effective at controlling the severity of the infection itself.
Why aren’t we doing this already? Simply put, it’s because we rely on private companies to take the initiative, and it’s not worth it to them to test and validate an entirely new vaccine, which requires a substantial investment.
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If we want a better flu vaccine, now is the time to start developing a new one using mRNA. If private industry doesn’t step up, any one of dozens of countries have the expertise to do so.
