![]() ![]() The goal is to induce immunity against nearly all variants so there will be fewer gaps in the immune system’s defenses for the virus to slip through. The blend is made up of versions of the protein hemagglutinin – essential to the influenza virus’s ability to infect cells – that is found in all flu variants circulating in animals and people. These are like a cocktail of protein pieces taken from different variants. This strategy directs the immune system against parts of the virus, or antigens, that are shared among all variants and can’t mutate without weakening or killing the virus. The first includes vaccines that focus on conserved, or unchanging, parts of the virus. Scientists are exploring several ways to develop universal influenza vaccines. What is a universal influenza vaccine?Ī universal influenza vaccine is one that does not need to be updated each year because it is designed to protect against all or most influenza variants. One potential way to do this is with messenger RNA, or mRNA.Ī primary challenge in developing vaccines against influenza is how rapidly the virus mutates. Nearly 20 years ago, my lab and several others developed a vision of building a universal influenza vaccine that could give us the leading edge in the race against influenza and prevent the next flu pandemic by effectively combating any eventual flu strain. I am a researcher developing new vaccines to prevent future pandemics. If that happens, the annual flu shot will not be effective and can’t be updated fast enough to stop a global spread. Most people will have no immunity against this new animal-origin virus, so it could quickly spread into a pandemic. This happens when a flu virus from animals, such as birds or swine, gains the ability to transmit between humans. This phenomenon is called antigenic drift, and can reduce the effectiveness of the flu vaccine for that season.Īn ongoing threat is that a major change in the flu virus, or antigenic shift, could cause the next flu pandemic. After identifying a new flu variant, it takes manufacturers about six months to update the vaccine – and in the meantime the virus can mutate again. Like the virus that causes COVID-19, influenza rapidly changes and mutates into new variants, so manufacturers have to update the flu shot to try to keep pace. However, your immune system is in a constant race against the flu virus. Getting the vaccine means you will be less sick even if you get a breakthrough infection. ![]() Flu cases peak between December and February, and the flu vaccine is your best defense. To everything there is a season, and for the flu, it’s wintertime. ![]()
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