In the fall of 2021, Russia may start producing a new tetravalent inactivated flu vaccine, Flu-M Tetra. The intentions of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums FMBA (SPbNIIVS) were told by its director Viktor Trukhin.
The institute is planning to obtain a registration certificate for the Flu-M Tetra this summer, Uralinformburo reports.
"Thus, the Russians will have the opportunity to be vaccinated with the new tetravalent vaccine Flu-M Tetra already in the 2021–2022 season," TASS quotes Viktor Trukhin.
In parallel, SPbNIIVS is working on expanding the age range of the trivalent drug "Flu-M" - the vaccine is planned to be made available for children aged 6-18 and for elderly people over 60.
Most often, trivalent vaccines are used for vaccinations against influenza, they include strains that will be most common in the upcoming epidemic season, according to the forecasts of the World Health Organization. However, the World Health Organization recommends immunization with quadrivalent vaccines.
An additional strain of the influenza B virus has been added to the new tetravalent vaccine Flu-M Tetra. This drug, which cost almost 1 billion rubles to create, is considered more effective.
It is worth noting that in 2019 Rostec created the first domestic quadrivalent influenza vaccine, Ultrix Quadri.
The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation plans that the country will completely switch to tetravalent influenza vaccines by 2024.