If solved
One flu shot lasts for years
A single vaccine protects for years against old and new flu strains and ends the yearly guess about next season's virus.
Open in the interactive tree →Annual updates, and vaccines built only after a pandemic strain appears, would be replaced by broad protection given in childhood with occasional boosters. It would also blunt the pandemic risk from bird flu viruses such as H5N1.
What it brings
- An end to the yearly vaccine update cycle
- Protection against pandemic flu before it appears
- Savings in health care and lost work
- A template for other fast-mutating viruses