A medical breakthrough may make the seasonal irritation of a flu shot a thing of the past.
As reported in the Guardian, researchers at Britain’s Oxford University have successfully tested on humans a universal flu shot that, the scientists say, could work against all known strains of the flu virus.
The annual flu shots currently in use, which are tailored to whichever strain is active at the moment, are less than ideal for two main reasons. First, many people don’t go through the hassle of getting the shot every year, which increases society’s susceptibility to outbreaks. Second, it takes at least four months for a vaccine to be developed after a new flu strain emerges — meaning that many people can get sick and, in the worst cases, die, in the interim.
The new vaccine works by targeting proteins inside the flu virus that are common across all known flu strains. Researchers say that a universal vaccine would end the periodic scrambles to develop shots for new outbreaks.
“It would become a routine vaccination that would be manufactured and used all the time at a steady level,” said Dr. Sarah Gilbert, who led the research team. “We wouldn’t have these sudden demands or shortages — all that would stop.”
A universal vaccine also might be particularly helpful for the elderly. Today, flu vaccines are effective for 70 to 80 percent of the population, but the figures drop to about 30 to 40 percent for the elderly, because their immune systems are less efficient at making new antibodies.
Adrian Hill, the director of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, where the testing was conducted, said the new vaccine “may not be 100 percent effective against all strains, but at least if there were a pandemic coming around, it would cover you for any strain.”
Researchers not involved in the study expressed guarded optimism. They said the findings, while promising, needed to be tested in larger studies.
