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Must work against both influenza and coronavirus

We need to get used to the coronavirus being in the community. Researchers at the University of Oslo will do something about this. Here are eight questions and answers about the vaccine now and in the future.

– The goal now is to create vaccines that provide an even broader immune response to future virus variants, says immunologist and vaccine researcher Gunnveig Grødeland at UiO.

On Thursday, Gunnveig Grødeland answers your vaccine questions. Here you can submit questions.


The vaccine researcher reckons that the next variants of the coronavirus will have their origin in the omicron. Vaccine manufacturers are now updating Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. They are aimed precisely at the omicron.

Norwegian researchers are also in the process of developing a classic seasonal vaccine that will work against both variants of the coronavirus and influenza virus. The vaccine is a classic protein vaccine. The production time can be as short as four months.

– The vaccine will have more layers of protection than today’s vaccines, says Grødeland.

Pfizer and Moderna are so-called mRNA vaccines. Such vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response to a current disease.

– Especially at one point, the mRNA vaccines are even better than initially thought. This is how good an effect they actually have on the formation of T cells in addition to the formation of antibodies, says Grødeland.

T cells are a type of white blood cell that play a vital role in the immune system. Although the antibodies lose some effect, these cells may well contribute to protection. They can not prevent infection, but can stop the development of serious illness.

Here, the vaccine researcher answers important vaccine questions:

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