The hope brought about a universal flu vaccine

the Flu is raging for fully in the northern hemisphere. Despite the fact that it is classed as a mild influensasäsong in the united states have so far almost 16,000 people, mostly the elderly, died in the country.

Many americans remember how hard the country was hit by the flu last season, by 2017-2018. Then the dog around 80,000 americans and many more became seriously ill.

" It was the worst flu season since we started measuring. It was really a wake-up call for many about how serious influenza can be, " says Anthony Fauci, director of the National institute of allergy and infectious diseases in the united states.

Anthony Fauci is director of the National institute of allergy and infectious diseases in the united states. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP

the deaths have led to several politicians have called for more money to research the flu vaccine, " he says. The best protection against the flu is the vaccine.

But today's influenza vaccines have lower efficacy than most other vaccines. One reason is that the influenza virus constantly mutates. That is why the flu vaccine must be updated each year to match the strains of virus is believed to circulate in the coming influensasäsong and, therefore, that you must vaccinate every year. Sometimes the world health organization poorer at predicting the next influenza virus, and sometimes it mutates the virus extra a lot during the production. It also affects the efficiency.

A good season, the vaccine to have a protective effect of around 60%. If you have bad luck, it can be less than 20 per cent. A preliminary report from the u.s. centre for disease (CDC), shows that the vaccine this year, a 47% protection against laboratoriebekräftad influenza in the united states.

– There is a need for better flu vaccines for several reasons. Even in a year when the vaccine has a high efficacy, so it is inferior if you compare with other vaccines, for example against measles, " says Anthony Fauci.

and many other scientists hope, is a so-called universal flu vaccine, a vaccine does not need to be updated each year and works against all types of influenza viruses, regardless of the mutation. Such a vaccine could be produced continuously during the year and be used regardless of the influenza virus circulating in the particular season.

in Addition, would such a vaccine could also be used in a pandemic. Today we are one step behind in case of a pandemic, because it takes time before a vaccine can be developed. In addition, there are also some research in the possible flu viruses that never becomes serious, which wastes both resources and time.

"Why would a universal flu vaccines not only save lives but also be good from a financial perspective," he says.

many obstacles. A big question for researchers to understand is something called original antigenic sin. This means that the first influenza virus to which a person encounters, either via vaccine or via the flu, will put the tracks in the immune system for a long time to come.

– Your immune system will want to create a protection against the first virus you encountered. It is good when it comes to viruses that have not changed, but there is a problem with the flu virus, said Anthony Fauci.

Other challenges is to get enough good immune response when you target the vaccine against the parts of the virus that do not mutate as easily.

is optimistic, he feels that there is both political will and technical capacity. However, it will take time to develop a really good universal flu vaccine. In addition, it will require many trials before one can say that it is better than the vaccine against seasonal influenza.

" We have talked about a universal flu vaccine for quite some time now, but now finally we have several candidates in different stages of development. But it will not happen over night. Instead, we will get different versions, which is improved for each time. A universal flu vaccine is several years away, " he says.

Until then, he speaks about the importance of improving the current flu vaccine. There is already a högdosvaccin approved in the united states. It contains, however, only three strains of the virus, but one against four strains of the virus are in the pipeline. In Europe, there is a vaccine with extra immunhöjande funds, which gives older people a better protection.

that a future strategy may be to tailor influensavaccineringen to increase the efficiency, so that the vaccine matches the particular person's responses.

" But it is important to point out, even if today's flu vaccine is not as effective so it is always important to get vaccinated. They prevent both serious illness and death, " says Anthony Fauci.

Read more: the Future of vaccines will provide better protection against the flu