No More Yearly Flu Shots?

Flu season is still months away but vaccine makers are already in full production mode. Soon yearly flu shots might be a thing of the past.

The flu shot is a yearly routine we all go through. The virus causing the flu mutates and changes just enough each year so that last years shot won't work. But every year experts have to take an educated guess what types of flu might be here in the following winter. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don't. But now the goal of a universal flu vaccine—one that will cover all strains of the flu and might only need to be given every decade or maybe even once a lifetime—is closer to reality.

Scientists have found a two step approach that allows a vaccine to cover all strains of the flu, not just the traditional 3 the shot covers every year. They were able to use a DNA primer which pumped up the immune system followed by a traditional flu vaccine. This combination proved very effective at covering different types of flu from years past.

Although this is still just an early start, it's crosses a big hurdle that scientists have been working on for some time. The hope is from here they will be able to get that universal vaccine—then maybe lining up every year for your flu shot might become a thing of the past.