A single injection in the fall to protect against both the flu and Covid-19: this scenario, long confined to discussions between doctors and manufacturers, is starting to take shape in Europe. For the moment, the campaigns are still based on two separate injections, sometimes carried out on the same day, sometimes spaced apart.
On February 26, 2026, the scientific committee of theEuropean Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion recommending a marketing authorization for
mCombriaxa combined influenza-covid messenger RNA vaccine developed by Moderna. This regulatory step opens the way to a single injection for two common respiratory infections. It remains to be seen when and under what conditions it will be offered to the French.
Combined flu-covid vaccine: what the EMA has actually validated
Concretely, the opinion of the EMA scientific committee is not the final authorization, but it constitutes the basis. The formal decision now rests with the European Commission, which can grant or not the centralized marketing authorization. In France, the High Authority for Health will then have to say who to recommend this vaccine to and how to integrate it into future campaigns.
The EMA indicates that mCombriax is intended for the prevention of seasonal flu and Covid-19 in people aged 50 and over, after which each state will decide on the price and terms of access. But the industrial calendar makes it unlikely that it will arrive in French pharmacies before winter 2027-2028, with orders for previous seasons already completed.
How mCombriax works and what the clinical trials say
According to the EMA, the mCombriax vaccine contains messenger RNA encoding proteins from SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza viruses A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and B Victoria lineage. The agency summarizes that this vaccine “acts like other vaccines and prepares the body to defend itself against infection”. “With this combined vaccine, we will ask our body, after the injection, to produce proteins which will allow us to develop an immune response against different variants of influenza, different strains and against SARS-CoV-2 of Covid-19“, explained Arnaud Chéret, medical director for Moderna in France, at the microphone of France Inter.
The trial data covers approximately 8,000 volunteers aged 50 and over. The EMA reports an immune response not inferior to that obtained with two separate vaccines, Covid and flu. The common effects remain classic: pain at the injection site, fatigue, aches, headaches, fever or nausea, most often for a few days.
What impact on vaccination coverage for people over 50 in France?
In France, older people remain on the front line: 60% of post-emergency hospitalizations for flu or influenza-like illness concern those aged 65 and over. At the end of 2025, only 15% of them were vaccinated against Covid-19, 53% against the flu, far from the 70% targeted by the World Health Organization.
The stated objective is to make up for this vaccination delay. “This vaccine has the advantage of possibly increasing vaccination coverage, particularly among the elderly against Covid-19.“, explained Stéphane Paul, immunologist at the Saint-Étienne University Hospital and vaccination expert for the HAS, quoted by France Inter.