Universal flu vaccine capable to last person’s entire lifetime discovered
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are now testing a universal vaccine against influenza that is capable of lasting a person’s entire lifetime.
Dr. Gary Nabel of the NIH says the vaccine’s potential is enormous. “We could immunize once or twice early in life, and give a lifetime of protection,” Dr. Nabel said.
While the head of a flu virus is significantly different in different strains of the flu and mutates frequently, the base rarely does. Experts went after the base alone by dosing animals with a vaccine made directly from flu virus DNA and then using another vaccine made from a weakened cold virus. It is believed that this method could lead to the destruction of multiple flu strains.