Knowing if you have COVID or the flu can affect when you get vaccinated, need a particular antiviral, or if you need to work from home. But these combination tests can be expensive.
Viral surveillance and prediction may be key parts of figuring out what goes into a vaccine.
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A new generation of vaccines and boosters against SARS-CoV-2 may take a page from the anti-influenza playbook, with shots periodically tailored to target the most commonly circulating virus strains.
Wouldn’t it be nice if one shot could protect you for life?
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You need a new shot every year because current flu vaccines provide limited and temporary protection. But researchers’ new strategy could mean a one-and-done influenza vaccine is on the way.
Our immune cells become less able to fight off infections as we get older.
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The 2018-2019 flu season was less deadly than the last. But the pattern of infection was unusual, thanks to the various strains circulating and the way flu shots work over time.
An Atlanta hospital set up a mobile ER to deal with the large number of flu cases.
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No one then knew a virus caused the 1918 flu pandemic, much less that animals can be a reservoir for human illnesses. Now virus ecology research and surveillance are key for public health efforts.
Could the yearly flu shot become a thing of the past?
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Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But rational design – a new way to create vaccines – might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
The flu vaccine doesn’t cover all strains of the flu that exist.
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This antivirus software protects health, not computers. Researchers are beginning to combat deadly infections using computer-generated antiviral proteins – a valuable tool to fight a future pandemic.
What if it wasn’t back to the drawing board every year for a new flu shot?
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Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But a new way to create vaccines, called ‘rational design,’ might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
GMOs may very well have filled up that syringe.
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Public health experts enlist the molecular biology tools that create genetically modified organisms – as well as the GMOs themselves – in the fight against emerging infectious diseases.
Antibiotics can prevent serious harm and stop infections becoming fatal. But they won’t kill common cold and flu viruses, and careless overprescribing by doctors can do more harm than good.
Children in particular experience a multitude of viral illnesses during their early years.
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Viruses cause all kinds of infections from relatively mild cases of the flu to deadly outbreaks of Ebola. Clearly, not all viruses are equal and one of these differences is when you can infect others.
There is no such thing as an ideal flu shot. But that doesn’t mean you should skip it.
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On December 3, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network advisory indicating a possible strain mismatch in this year’s vaccine. After the usual brief flurry…
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That crystal ball we ordered? New flu model helps predict future strains.
April Mo
Influenza viruses rapidly evolve in shape, making it hard to develop protective vaccines against them. Despite a great deal of study, scientists have been at a loss to forecast their evolution in any detail…
Associate Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Affiliate Associate Professor of Genome Sciences and Microbiology, University of Washington