Why do flu shots only protect us for a single season? Why can’t influenza vaccines be like polio vaccines: get them in childhood and be done with them? Wouldn’t that be the best way to prepare ourselves for the next pandemic?
These are among the questions that will be addressed at next month’s World Science Festival. To lay the groundwork, I’ve written a blog post at the festival web site on where we stand on the road to a universal flu vaccine. At this point, we have good reason to believe that such a vaccine could be invented. Which makes it all the more urgent that we do so. Check it out.
Originally published May 19, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.