Universal Vaccine Would Offer Better Protection Against Seasonal Flu, Study Suggests

A universal vaccine could offer broader and better protection against the seasonal flu than current vaccines, which only protect against a narrow set of flu virus strains, according to researchers who developed a vaccine prototype and tested it on mice, finding the vaccine worked against both main flu virus types, influenza A and influenza B.

A nurse gives a flu shot at San Fernando Middle School. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Mice vaccinated with the shot designed by researchers at Georgia State University were protected against a host of common influenza A and B seasonal subvariants, including H1N1, H3N2 and the Yamagata and Victoria flu subtypes, according to a study published in Plos Pathogens on Thursday that was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study provides “impactful insight” into developing a universal flu vaccine to cover both the A and B flu variants, said Sang-Moo Kang, a senior author of the study and a professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State. The study comes two months after the National Institutes of Health announced it was beginning phase one of a clinical trial for a universal flu vaccine, the first time such a vaccine has been tested in humans.

The flu vaccine for the winter season of 2014 to 2015 may have been less than 20% effective, according to the researchers, who cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

35 million. That’s how many in the U.S. were infected with the flu during the winter season of 2019 to 2020, according to the CDC. Some 20,000 people died from the flu that season, the CDC estimates.

The flu remains a health concern for many populations around the world, including the most vulnerable. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated against the flu each year, especially those at highest risk of severe illness, including young children, those 65 years and older and those with chronic medical conditions. Flu vaccines work by using a weakened version of the influenza virus to help the human body recognize a protein on the surface of the virus. Vaccine manufacturers are often forced to guess which flu strains will be the most prevalent as they’re developing the vaccine months ahead of the flu season, a strategy that does not always offer strong protection. Flu vaccine uptake in the U.S. is also relatively low, with roughly 50% to 60% of Americans getting the shot each year over the past 10 years, according to the CDC. Researchers have been hoping to develop a vaccine like a universal shot that offers broader protection against the seasonal flu for years.

Why flu vaccines so often fail (Science.org)

Universal Flu Vaccine Gets Closer to Reality As Phase 1 Testing Starts (Healthline)