One Jab for Flu and Covid: Dane Over 65 Is First in Europe to Get New mRNA Combination Vaccine

Two diseases, one needle. On Friday 16 October a Dane over 65 at Gentofte Hospital north of Copenhagen became the first person in Europe to receive a new combination vaccine against both influenza and Covid-19, DR reported. Until now the two have been given as separate shots.

The jab is part of the DAN-COMBO study, a large pragmatic trial of the mRNA combination vaccine mCombriax (mRNA-1083) in adults aged 65 and over, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Danes over 65 were invited from September. 165,000 have already accepted, and the researchers expect more than 300,000 to take part over the next two years. Half get the single combination shot; the other half get the usual two shots.

“Vaccinerne er godkendt og testet omfattende, så man kan helt sikkert føle sig sikker i at være med.”

“The vaccines are approved and extensively tested, so you can definitely feel safe taking part.”

— Tor Biering-Sørensen, professor and chief physician at Herlev-Gentofte Hospital, who leads the trial, to DR

“Just as effective, or better?”

The question is not whether the vaccines work at all, says the man behind the trial, professor and chief physician Tor Biering-Sørensen of Herlev-Gentofte Hospital, but whether one shot prevents hospital admissions with flu and Covid as well as two, or even better. Fewer needles, less plastic and half the transport are the practical gains, he told DR. What researchers know less about, he said, is how well the combined jab prevents admissions.

Not everyone is cheering. Danish commentator @Jenbas1 mocked the media on X: “Take a bow, ‘media’. Could never have happened without your propaganda,” she wrote of the 165,000 sign-ups, adding: “Note DR’s great enthusiasm.” Her post is an opinion; the trial is run by Danish hospitals and registered publicly.