Joining the Flu Fight: Moderna's Simultaneous Flu and COVID Booster

Narrator: 0:00

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio Show hosted by Kevin Gettings of WSOS St Augustine Radio and powered by ENCORE Research Group. Each Monday morning, Dr. Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with insightful discussions. Medevidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, with both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and health care. This is MedEvidence.

Kevin Geddings: 0:30

As promised, Dr. Michael Koren joins me with a great opportunity for those of you out there listening, driving around, who have not had your flu shot and maybe have not had your COVID booster shot. Right, Dr. Koren?

Dr. Michael Koren: 0:42

That's correct, Kevin. Good morning, how are you?

Kevin Geddings: 0:44

Well, doing well.

Dr. Michael Koren: 0:45

Doing well.

Kevin Geddings: 0:46

We're heading into the season, of course we're going to see family of Thanksgiving and Christmas and a lot of times people get sick from various illnesses that are rolling around. So this is a great opportunity to fight back against the flu and against COVID correct.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:02

Exactly right. So for folks out there who are listening, who have not gotten their flu or COVID boosters, this is a tremendous opportunity to get both in a clinical research project. We're working with Moderna on this project and everybody that participates in these programs will get both, and we're testing the latest and greatest messenger RNA vaccines. But the key point of the study from a research standpoint is that you can get both at the same time, and a current recommendation is that is not what happens. Current recommendation is that you separate your flu and your COVID vaccines, so in this case, we'll get them both at the same time. So it's a neat opportunity, and people get paid for participating, as long as they fill out their electronic diaries, which allows us to collect data that we send to the FDA on whether or not this combination is working out as well as we think it should.

Kevin Geddings: 1:54

And these, of course, leading edge, cutting edge medical technology vaccines are going to be available here in St Augustine at the Whetstone Building, really close to UF Flagler Hospital, right there off of 312. So that makes it super convenient for our listeners here in St. John's County, right, Dr. Koren?

Dr. Michael Koren: 2:11

That is correct, and we also run the studies in Jacksonville and also in Inverness, Florida, for people that may be out there on the West Coast.

Kevin Geddings: 2:22

And Dr. Koren. Simple-minded questions, because that's what I'm really good at? Are we looking at two different injections or are both v accines are basically in the same injection.

Dr. Michael Koren: 2:34

Well, you're going to get two injections as part of the study, one in each arm, but one of them will be the placebo and the other one will be the new one or a combination thereof. So you're basically going to get both, but the way distributed is what the study is looking at. Hopefully that makes sense. So some people will get both in the same injection with the placebo, some will get one in one arm and one the other, and some people will get the current standard. But everybody gets vaccinated.

Kevin Geddings: 3:02

And Dr. Koren, unlike other clinical trials, where sometimes we participate and we're going to get a placebo, in this case everyone is going to get protection from the flu and COVID.

Dr. Michael Koren: 3:13

Exactly. This is what we call an active control study. So the arm that the control arm, is actually active medication as well. That's one of the reasons it's a neat opportunity for people because of that active control concept.

Kevin Geddings: 3:29

And of course I know putting on your other hat. We're expecting, probably this winter, to see a spike in COVID cases, and there's already reports of RSV and the flu going around, correct?

Dr. Michael Koren: 3:41

Absolutely. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see. Again, this is now a full year where people are sort of back to their normal activities. No one's wearing masks anymore, people's guard are down, and so we'll see how that plays out, but it could be a pretty active season for all the seasonal viruses that's the anticipation.

Kevin Geddings: 4:01

Well, once again, to participate in this, to potentially get compensation but, more importantly, to get protection from the flu and from COVID and participate in some leading-edge medicine. It's a lot of fun, too. Great team to work with at ENCORE Research Group. All you have to do is call this number here locally 904-730-0166. Ask any questions you'd like about this combination flu and COVID vaccine effort and how you participate and how you can be compensated for that. Go to 904-730-0166. And of course, some of our listeners would say, Dr. Koren, are we seeing people with any side effects that are significant?

Dr. Michael Koren: 4:43

So far, so good. We've dosed over 100 people in the study so far and we seem to have happy customers, so hopefully you will continue like that, yeah absolutely.

Kevin Geddings: 4:54

Well, once again to participate, go to ENCOREdocs. com or call this number. There's also a variety of other clinical trials that you can participate in addition to this combination flu and COVID booster effort. So call and learn more about that, 904-730-0166. Dr. Koren, before we let you go, people that are driving around is there kind of an ideal group of folks who really should give this serious consideration?

Dr. Michael Koren: 5:22

Yeah, as we mentioned in previous episodes of our discussions, there's two things to consider it's your personal risk and your exposure risk. Some people who are older, say over 60 years of age or at higher risk people with preexisting medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes or cancer, would be people that we would wanna protect. And then people who are being exposed, either in their workplace, to a lot of people who are sick, or people who can expose themselves to other vulnerable people should consider this. So, for example, if you're a young, healthy 30-year-old, well, you may not think that you're at high risk and you would be correct, but if you're living with a grandparent who's 85 years old, that person is extremely high risk. So by you protecting yourself, you're also protecting the people around you.

Kevin Geddings: 6:09

Once again, that's the voice of Dr. Michael Koren. He joins us here on Monday mornings. He's a medical doctor and runs the show at ENCORE Research Group, with offices and locations all around North Florida, including here in St. John's County, in St Augustine, next to UF Flagler Hospital on State Road 312. Before we let you go to Dr. Koren, of course I always wanna make sure people check out the website MedEvidence. com Explain to our listeners what that's all about.

Dr. Michael Koren: 6:36

Medevidence is our platform to relay medical information to people in a very objective way. When you ask for Dr. Google's opinion, you get something that's always subjective. Somebody's trying to sell you something. On MedEvidence. com, we're just trying to give you the facts. We call it the truth behind the data and we present whatever the medical question is in a way that's objective, that is related to the data that's available, so that people can make a really good decision for themselves and their families. So I think people enjoy it. It's also an entertaining format. We've gotten a lot of positive feedback that people enjoy the conversations that we have on MedEvidence. So check it out, see what you think.

Kevin Geddings: 7:14

Yeah, once again, that website, MedEvidence. com good information. They're presented in a way that's very easy to consume, very easy to digest, and gives you a really good, balanced view of what's going on in the healthcare world. So we encourage you to do that. Learn more, though, about the combination flu and COVID booster by going to ENCOREdocs. com and calling this number. Punch it into your cell phone 904-730-0166. That's 904-730-0166. Dr. Michael Koren, as always, thanks for joining us and we appreciate your time. Okay, it's my pleasure, Kevin.

Narrator: 7:51

have a great week. Thanks for joining the MedEvidence podcast. To learn more, head over to MedEvidence. com or subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.