A new mRNA flu vaccine is ready. This is what you need to know about mFlusiva.

Flu season is starting, and cases are beginning to rise in Maryland. After last year’s rough respiratory virus season, public health officials are urging people to get an influenza vaccine before the end of October.

This year, doctors are recommending a new type of flu vaccine for people aged 50 and up — one based on mRNA technology, the same platform used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Anna Durbin, director of the Center for Immunization Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, believes the new vaccine can save people a lot of misery. She serves on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s advisory panel that recommended the vaccine’s approval.

What are the potential advantages of Moderna’s mFlusiva (pronounced em-floo-SEE-vah)?

The mRNA vaccine can be made more quickly and might offer better protection against the flu virus, Durbin said.

That’s because mRNA vaccines don’t depend on the traditional monthslong process of growing a virus in eggs. Instead, scientists need only identify the genetic code of circulating flu strains and create a vaccine that sends instructions to our cells to make antibodies that fend off the flu.

“With mRNA vaccines, we can start closer to the start of the season, and the benefit is we may get a much better match,” Durbin said.

In studies, the mRNA vaccine induced a stronger immune response, meaning people would likely be better equipped to fight the virus in real life. The real test will come this season, now that the vaccine is available, though not yet everywhere.

Why should healthy people get any flu vaccine?

Clearly this is top of mind for many, as flu vaccination rates are low. Last year an estimated half of Maryland adults didn’t get a shot.

Durbin said the goal of vaccines is not to stop all cases but to prevent severe infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and tens of thousands die from the flu each year, according to federal data. Most of them aren’t vaccinated.

While people usually recover at home, those who get a flu shot (or mist, available for kids) may spend less time miserable on the sofa. That’s less missed school and work, Durbin said.

The mRNA vaccine was tested in people aged 50 and older, including some 65 and up. More studies are underway, and Durbin said those are likely to include younger adults and children.

“What we’re really hoping to see this flu season is if this translates into better protection against the flu in the real world, and we think it will,” Durbin said.

Can younger adults get this vaccine?

Durbin said the vaccine could be prescribed by a doctor “off-label” for an unapproved use. But it’s not clear whether insurers will cover the cost, which she said could run $150 to $180.

Since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t currently have a functioning advisory board on vaccine policy and schedules, insurers could decline coverage anyway.

Maryland health officials offer their own guidance and permit but don’t require pharmacists to give vaccines to those aged 3 and older without a prescription. The state also requires insurers it regulates to pay for them.

Durbin recommended calling your insurer or pharmacist to check.

Are traditional vaccines still a good choice?

“Absolutely,” Durbin said. “It’s critically important to get a flu vaccine.”

People should aim to get a flu shot by the end of October to last the season. A COVID vaccine too. They can be taken at the same time.

Durbin said those who get the flu shot have a lower risk of dementia and heart attacks. This is likely also true of the mRNA vaccine, which she recommends for those aged 50 and up.

But is mRNA technology safe?

The technology has long been studied for cancer and, more recently, autoimmune diseases. But the Trump administration has pushed unfounded claims about the technology’s effectiveness and safety.

It’s also cut $500 million in mRNA research grants.

That followed criticism during the pandemic that the COVID vaccines were experimental and rushed, even though they went through the same studies, albeit on an expedited timeline

Plenty of other rumors about mRNA technology are out there, like that it somehow alters your DNA, though scientists say that’s impossible. Durbin said it can be tough to bat down all the mis- and disinformation about COVID and now flu vaccines — the only mRNA vaccines approved to date.

And while she said no vaccine is 100% safe or without side effects, she countered that mRNA vaccines were given to millions of people during the pandemic and have proven to be safe and effective.

“If the U.S. doesn’t continue with development of mRNA vaccines for cancer and other uses, the rest of the world will and we will be left behind,” she said.