A locally administered single-cycle influenza vaccine expressing a non-fusogenic stabilized hemagglutinin stimulates strong T-cell and neutralizing antibody immunity

Influenza is a serious public health concern, causing seasonal epidemics as well as pandemics in people. Influenza can also cause severe agricultural losses due to its circulation in farmed poultry and swine. A major challenge in the control of influenza is the diversity of circulating viruses. Developing vaccines that stimulate immunity to a wide array of influenza viruses is therefore important for protecting human and animal populations from disease and death. In this study, we describe an approach for developing influenza vaccines that trigger immune mechanisms shown to induce broad protection against a diversity of viruses, while also conserving the strong protection against specific strains observed in existing vaccines.