Moderna announced Thursday that it had begun developing a potential vaccine that combines a COVID-19 booster and a seasonal flu vaccine.
“Today we announce the first step in our new respiratory vaccine program with the development of a single-dose vaccine that combines COVID-19 booster and flu booster,” said Moderna CEO. Stéphane Bancel, in the press release.
Bancel previously told CNBC in April that it hopes to have a booster ready for fall and available.
“I want to make sure there are booster shots available in the fall in order to protect people as we enter the next fall and winter season in the U.S.,” he said at the time as he appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
After Moderna announced its plans to produce a combination, its market shares rose more than six percent.
In early September, Moderna announced that it had filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a COVID-19 vaccine booster administered six months after a patient received a second dose regimen.
Biden administration officials have said they hope to begin offering booster vaccines for Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines starting Sept. 20 pending approval from an FDA group. The agency has already approved booster shots for certain immunocompromised individuals.
Moderna completed its submission to receive full approval of its vaccine from the FDA last month. Moderna’s vaccine currently operates under emergency use authorization.
The FDA granted full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine last month, two days before Moderna completed its presentation.
While the United States appears to be beginning to administer COVID-19 booster shots, world leaders have criticized the move, as many other low- and middle-income countries continue to struggle to administer vaccines to their people.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), called for a moratorium on booster shots until next year.
“We called for the equity of vaccines from the beginning, not after the richest countries have been served,” Tedros said at a news conference Wednesday. “I will not be silent when companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think that the world’s poor should be satisfied with the remnants.”