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It’s flu season. Again. Which means it’s time for the flu vaccine. Again. The reason we need a shot year after year is that different strains of influenza circulate annually, so a vaccine that protects against last year’s strains likely won’t confer immunity to this year’s. This is particularly true because the seasonal flu vaccine spurs the production of antibodies that recognize an especially mutable part of the virus.
For decades, scientists have been trying to develop a universal vaccine that would protect people against seasonal flu for years, and also against pandemics, which emerge when viral strains completely novel to people’s immune systems start spreading. “A universal flu vaccine is often referred to as ‘The Holy Grail’ of influenza research, and like the Holy Grail, it is challenging to achieve,” Tamar Ben-Yedidia, chief scientific officer of BiondVax, whose universal flu vaccine is now in Phase ...
