Researchers closing in on a universal flu vaccine -- but ...

In a significant step, researchers recently said they’ve been able to immunize animals against all 20 known influenza A and B virus strains, marking an important step toward the goal of a single vaccine against all types of the flu. …

For the current study, the experimental shot was used only in mice and ferrets, and the results were reported last month in the journal Science. The researchers say they’re working through the process of making the vaccine to human quality standards and aim to try it in people in 2023.

They’re hopeful that, if those tests succeed, the vaccine could protect people in the event of another pandemic strain of flu.

To make the vaccine, the researchers relied on the same mRNA technology that’s used in Covid-19 vaccines. But scientists actually started on these experiments in 2017, years before the first Covid-19 shots were given. In fact, it was that research that helped lay the groundwork for the Covid-19 vaccines.

[Yeah, but after all of the double-talk and misrepresentation of the COVID vaccines’ capabilities and risks over the last couple of years, don’t expect people to line up for this one without some serious long-range research. — Ed]