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Progress Reported on Universal Flu Vaccines

posted by CoolHand on Tuesday August 25 2015, @10:05AM   
from the super-flu-ent-in-vaccines dept.

takyon writes:

Two separate U.S. teams have reportedly made progress on creating a universal influenza vaccine, according to the BBC:

Researchers say they are closer to developing a vaccine to give life-long protection against any type of flu, after promising trials in animals. Two separate US teams have found success with an approach that homes in on a stable part of the flu virus. That should remove the problem with current flu vaccines which must be given anew each year because they focus on the mutating part of the virus.

The proof-of-concept work is published in Science journal and Nature Medicine [both paywalled]. Studies are now needed in humans to confirm that the method will work in man.

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Original Submission

• Re: Flu shots will become mandatoryRe: Flu shots will become mandatory (Score: 2) by curunir_wolf on Tuesday August 25 2015, @10:37PM

  by curunir_wolf (4772) on Tuesday August 25 2015, @10:37PM (#227826)

  Actually, there is very little evidence of the efficacy of the smallpox vaccine. If you study the history of the disease and the epidemics that occurred both before and after compulsory vaccination, there's not really any correlation. The prevalence of smallpox decrease over time pretty much independent of vaccination efforts.

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  I am a crackpot

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• Re: Flu shots will become mandatory(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2015, @11:20PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2015, @11:20PM (#227848)

  Interesting, do you have a link to this data?

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