Boost for children when flu returns after pandemic

For more than half a century, the flu shot has relied on egg-based manufacturing to produce the most effective seasonal vaccine.

The Doherty Institute’s Terry Nolan says the transition to cell-based production has been accelerated by the onset of Covid-19 and the demand for mRNA vaccines.

A breakthrough in flu vaccine ­research has revealed the production of new cell-based vaccinations can provide greater protection to children, with ­experts predicting it will become a vital tool when influenza returns after the pandemic.

For more than half a century, the flu shot has relied on egg-based manufacturing to produce the most effective seasonal vaccine. But according to recent research a new method of cell-based production could not only replace the traditional jab, but lead to more advanced protection for children.

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, surveyed more than 4500 participants across eight countries and three flu seasons. It concluded that the cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine resulted in up to 55 per cent ­“absolute efficacy” in children as young as two and could increase the speed of vaccine production.

The Doherty Institute’s Terry Nolan, who spearheaded the international research, said while egg-based manufacturing had been a mainstay in the production of flu jabs for decades it had major limitations.

“In the last few years it has become apparent that the egg-based culture of producing a vaccine may drift away from the intended strain. That means that the killed virus in the vaccine may not be targeting the circulating intended virus,” he said. “Modern cell culture is vastly more efficient in terms of yield and scalability. It’s inevitable that all of the flu vaccines in the future will come from this more modern approach.”

In a typical year, 5 to 15 per cent of the world’s population contracts flu, with more than 650,000 respiratory-related deaths recorded. According to Professor Nolan, it was essential that their study focus on children, who are sometimes sidelined when it comes to long-term vaccine research.

“Unlike Covid, children are really the predominant circulators of flu,” he said. “It’s different with Covid where children can get it, and they do circulate it but not a lot. It’s the other way round with the flu. Children very rapidly share it among each other and then share it with adults.”