World Is Gearing Up for Future Pandemics With a Universal Flu Vaccine

For decades, scientists have been trying to develop a vaccine that can prepare the body to counter all existing strains of the influenza virus. They have come a long way and are just one step away from creating a universal vaccine after tests conducted on animals have shown convincing results. The experimental flu vaccine is mRNA-dependent, just like the COVID vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Although it has only been tested on mice and ferrets, the vaccine offers significant evidence that a single shot may be used to combat a whole family of viruses. If the vaccination program is successful in humans, it might be applied to other viral families, potentially including the coronavirus. The current influenza vaccines protect against seasonal flu, but they wouldn't offer much defense against a novel strain that might become a pandemic threat. For instance, the traditional vaccine provided minimal protection from the virus during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic. The universal vaccine would not take the place of yearly flu shots, but it would offer protection from serious illness and fatality from potential pandemic threats. Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the work stated in the NewYork Times “If we had a vaccine like this that was widely used prior to that epidemic, we might not have to shut everything down if a new influenza pandemic broke out tomorrow”. The next step would be to test the vaccine on monkeys and humans.