Intranasal administration of octavalent next-generation influenza vaccine elicits protective immune responses against seasonal and pre-pandemic viruses

Influenza is a respiratory virus which infects around a billion people globally every year, with millions experiencing severe illness. Commercial vaccine efficacy varies year to year and can be low due to mismatch of circulating virus strains. Thus, the formulation of current vaccines has to be adapted accordingly every year. The development of a broadly reactive influenza vaccine would lessen the global economic and public health burden caused by the different types of influenza viruses. The significance of our research is producing a promising universal vaccine candidate which provides protection against a wider range of virus strains over a wider range of time.