Moderna is backing the American Lung Association’s (ALA’s) call for people with lung diseases to get vaccinated for the upcoming respiratory virus season.
The biotech, which sells vaccines against COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is supporting a new campaign from the ALA to communicate the importance of staying up to date on recommended vaccinations. The ALA said in a Wednesday announcement that it is particularly keen to reach the more than 35 million people living with chronic lung disease in the U.S. and the 235,000 people diagnosed with lung cancer each year.
People with those conditions are at a higher risk of severe illness. Vaccine use recommendations reflect the risks: RSV vaccines, for example, are recommended for use in people aged 50 to 74 who are at higher risk of severe illness, including those who have chronic lung disease. Otherwise, the recommended age is 75 and older.
The ALA campaign also covers vaccines against flu and COVID-19. Annual flu shots are recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older, while the COVID-19 vaccine advice changed recently, with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommending individual-based decision-making. ACIP noted that the risk-benefit profile of vaccines is most favorable in people with COVID-19 risk factors.
Through the campaign, the ALA will raise awareness about surveillance trends and the expected severity of the respiratory virus season. The advocacy group is also planning to create a new educational resource on vaccines for people living with lung cancer and to hold a chronic lung disease webinar.
The ALA’s focus on severity follows a bad flu season. Last winter was the first high-severity season since the 2017-2018 season, with the 2024-2025 season classified as high severity across children, adults and older adults.
Moderna is active against all the viruses that the ALA is targeting, although it has yet to win approval for a flu shot that recently passed a phase 3 test. The flu vaccine program is intended to complete Moderna’s respiratory portfolio and “create basically a cash cow,” CEO Stéphane Bancel said at a Morgan Stanley event last month. Bancel said he believes the vaccines can be commercialized with limited investment.
“We’re not selling, detailing to doctors for the flu vaccine or the combo vaccine,” Bancel said. “We're directly negotiating with CVS and Walgreens and Walmart and all the big retailers ... so we can handle those products without adding salespeople.”