‘Supervaccine’ that fights coronavirus and the flu could be available in as little as a year 

A ‘supervaccine’ that protects against both coronavirus and the flu could be available in as little as a year, a leading expert has said.

Professor Ronald Eccles, who ran Cardiff University’s Common Cold Centre for almost 30 years, said there was no insurmountable hurdle to combining the two jabs in one shot.

‘I do believe that in the future we will have a combined flu and Covid vaccine,’ he added. 

A ‘supervaccine’ that protects against both coronavirus and the flu could be available in as little as a year, a leading expert has said (file photo)

‘It’s easier for people to go for one vaccination, rather than having to go for two. And in terms of manpower, it’s a no-brainer.’

Prof Eccles said that safety checks would first need to be carried out to ensure no harmful interactions between the two jabs, but believed that was unlikely to be an issue.

Combining multiple different vaccines in one ‘shot’ is commonplace with childhood vaccination.

Prof Eccles said that safety checks would first need to be carried out to ensure no harmful interactions between the two jabs, but believed that was unlikely to be an issue (file photo)

There was also the problem that Covid and flu jabs might be needed to be stored at different temperatures, which could make combining them tricky.

But Prof Eccles said flu vaccines could be overhauled shortly, thanks to the ‘revolution’ in technology triggered by the drive for a Covid vaccine. He added: ‘I think we have almost developed the technology to get new vaccines ‘off the shelf’ now.’