Scientists at the University of Oxford have launched a new study to test a two-in-one respiratory vaccine.
The phase one study will test a vaccine targeting both respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and another for RSV alone in five to eight-month-old infants.
RSV is a common virus affecting children across the globe. Within their first two years, up to 90 per cent of children contract the virus and it frequently reinfects older children and adults.
Although RSV usually causes mild respiratory illness, some infants experience severe bronchiolitis, which leads to the inflammation of the small airways, sometimes causing extreme breathing difficulties.
In the UK, about one in 50 children under the age of one are admitted to hospital as a result of RSV infections.
Closely related to RSV, hMPV is a respiratory pathogen, associated with a range of illnesses from mild infection to severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
These potential jabs are being developed by pharmaceutical company Moderna.
Dr Simon Drysdale, consultant in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, and principal investigator on the study, said: "RSV and hMPV are two of the leading causes of respiratory infections in children, the elderly and immunocompromised patients worldwide.
"This trial is an important early step in the development of a paediatric vaccine against RSV and hMPV."
The jabs are messenger RNA vaccines. They work by instructing cells in the body to produce a specific protein, triggering an immune response.
This prompts the immune system to remember the protein, enabling a rapid and effective reaction if the individual contracts the actual virus in the future.
The Rhyme study is the first attempt to create a vaccine that could simultaneously protect against RSV and hMPV.
It aims to enrol approximately 60 paediatric participants between five and eight months old across seven UK sites.
Over the course of around 24 months, each participant will receive three injections at 56-day intervals.
The sites participating in the trial are Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Also taking part are Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, with the research being sponsored by Moderna.
The study is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network Thames Valley and South Midlands.
It has been reviewed and approved by the Health and Social Care Research Ethics Committee.
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