By: Charlotte Plaskwa
Imagine a single flu vaccine that offers protection not just this year, but every year, and from nearly every strain of flu. Thanks to ground-breaking research from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), this vision might soon be reality.
Annually, influenza wreaks havoc worldwide, causing up to five million cases of severe illness and as many as 650,000 deaths, as estimated by the World Health Organization. This virus is notorious for its ability to evolve rapidly, often outpacing the vaccines designed to fight it. Each year, scientists scramble to predict which strains will dominate, crafting vaccines that, while effective initially, quickly diminish in efficacy as the virus mutates. For example, the flu vaccines available in the US for the 2023-2024 season target just 4 specific strains of influenza. The quest for a universal flu vaccine has long been a ‘Holy Grail’ for medical researchers, a pursuit fraught with scientific challenges but offering immense potential rewards.
At OHSU, a novel approach is transforming the field of influenza prevention. Researchers are developing a universal vaccine that targets the more stable internal proteins of the virus, rather than the rapidly mutating external proteins. These internal proteins remain largely consistent across different strains and over time, providing a more reliable basis for a vaccine that could offer broad and enduring protection.
A ground-breaking aspect of OHSU’s research involves the use of a Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vector. CMV is a virus so common that it infects a large portion of the human population without causing harm, and scientists have repurposed this virus as a delivery system for the vaccine. By employing CMV to introduce the internal proteins of the flu virus to the immune system, the researchers have found a way to educate the body’s T-cells to recognise and combat influenza across its many external-protein variations.
This technique’s potential was demonstrated in experiments with rhesus macaques. These primates received a vaccine designed to protect against the H5N1 strain, known as avian flu, which carries a high mortality rate. Remarkably, the vaccinated animals survived exposure to lethal doses of H5N1. The vaccine’s design draws on the strain from the 1918 influenza pandemic, known as the ‘Spanish flu,’ underscoring its broad applicability across pathogen variants.
The implications of this study are profound, especially in the post-COVID era when pandemic preparedness is more crucial than ever. A successful universal flu vaccine would not only alleviate the annual public health scramble to match vaccines with predicted strains but also significantly enhance global readiness against viruses with pandemic potential. As viruses like Mpox circulate the media and raise concerns about future pandemics, a universal vaccine represents optimism, promising to simplify flu prevention with lasting benefits.
The economic ramifications of a universal flu vaccine would be equally significant. The widespread distribution of such a vaccine is estimated to prevent approximately 17 million cases of influenza annually, along with 251,000 hospitalisations and 19,500 deaths. Beyond the significant human cost, this would translate to a savings of approximately $3.5 billion in direct medical costs each year, previously incurred due to treatments and hospitalisations for flu-related illnesses.
Public concern is growing about the frequency of vaccinations, especially in children. Over the past two decades, the number of vaccinations included in national immunisation schemes has increased sharply, making these schedules progressively complicated. This is particularly true for routine infant vaccinations, where children often receive multiple injections simultaneously, each containing different vaccine components. A survey revealed that one in four parents believe that excessive immunisations can impair a child’s immune system and that children receive more vaccinations than are beneficial for them. By consolidating protection into a single, comprehensive shot, a universal vaccine could simplify these schedules, expanding overall immunisation coverage and reducing the risk of disease outbreaks. This would address both public health and parental concerns, making preventative measures more palatable and easier to administer.
The next critical phase for this vaccine is human trials, which will assess its safety and efficacy in real-world conditions. If successful, this could herald a new era in flu prevention, one where annual flu shots become a thing of the past, replaced by long-term protection capable of adjusting to the flu’s continual evolution.
This potential breakthrough in vaccine technology could significantly alter global public health, offering enduring defence against one of humanity’s most elusive adversaries.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and may not reflect the opinions of The St Andrews Economist.
Image courtesy of Business Insider