US to develop universal vaccines to target multiple virus strains

(Reuters) -U.S. health agencies said on Thursday they are seeking to develop a universal vaccine technology to target multiple strains of different viruses such as influenza and coronaviruses, in a project the Wall Street Journal reported included $500 million in government investment.

The project, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is calling the “Generation Gold Standard”, aims to develop a universal-vaccine technology that protects against multiple strains of a virus at once.

The project, announced by the HHS and the National Institutes for Health, represents a shift in funding from COVID-19 projects to study more viruses, the WSJ reported.

Trials for a universal flu vaccine are expected to begin in 2026, with FDA decision expected by 2029, HHS said.

The project “delivers a cost-effective, accountable alternative” to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics,” said a spokesperson for HHS.

The agency, which is led by vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., did not disclose how much it would spend on the project.

WSJ, which first reported on the project, citing emails, said the government’s investment is to come from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a center within the HHS that funds measures to protect the public from threats such as pandemics.

(Reporting by Disha Mishra, Siddhi Mahatole and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Freya Whitworth and Shinjini Ganguli)