No more yearly flu shots? Scientists may have developed a ‘universal’ vaccine
Scientists have developed a new vaccine that could be better at protecting against the flu.
Researchers at Georgia State University injected mice with the vaccine and found that it protected them long-term against six different strands of the flu, according to a release about the study.
This suggests the vaccine could be a “universal” flu shot that would eliminate the need to be vaccinated each season, the release says.
The vaccine combines two major flu proteins, one of which is found in all flu strains and has changed slowly over time. The other protein, NA, is found on the surface of the flu virus but has changed slower than other proteins, according to the release.
This is unique because most vaccines don’t focus on the NA protein, the release says.
The protein has been ignored in the past because when someone gets the flu, their body reacts to the protein HA, which is “much more dominant” than NA, the release says.
But the problem with HA is that it changes very quickly, according to the release, which is why flu shots have to be different every year.
A successful “universal” flu shot would eliminate this need for a newly developed flu shot every season and would protect people against every strand of the virus, researchers say.
“Seasonal flu vaccines are insufficient to prevent influenza outbreaks, and developing a universal influenza vaccine is the ideal strategy for eliminating public health threats of influenza epidemics and pandemics,” the release says.
The “immune protection” the mice got from the vaccine lasted four months, the study says.
Every year, millions of people get the flu, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and thousands die from flu-related issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Currently, flu shots reduce the risk of getting the flu by 40 to 60 percent in seasons when the flu shot is “well-matched” to the vaccine, the agency says.
The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get the shot, with rare exceptions. Those who get the shot but still get the flu are likely to have a less severe case of it.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 12:38 PM with the headline "No more yearly flu shots? Scientists may have developed a ‘universal’ vaccine."
