In the midst of the abysmal making its way through the U.S. there is some good news.
A team of researchers from McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York discovered a group of antibodies that they believe could be used for a universal flu vaccine in at least five years, reported New York Daily News.
The researchers are working on a new shot with these antibodies as the foundation. The shot, unlike past flu vaccines, will only have to be administered once (not seasonally). If successful, the vaccine should protect against all strains of the flu, even when strains drift like this year.
"This would prevent the occurrence of flu pandemics and poor vaccine efficiency in the case of mismatches, which actually occurred this year," Matthew Miller, a senior author on the study and the assistant professor in McMaster's Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, told NY Daily News.
At this point, no scientist has been able to create a vaccine that works against every strain of the flu.
"So far no one has been able to develop a vaccine that works against every type of flu," said Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News chief health and medical editor. "I'd urge caution until scientists present data showing they've really been able to achieve this."
The universal flu shot is planned to go into clinical trial this year, Dr. Peter Palese, the chair of the department of microbiology of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told ABC News.
This alleged universal flu shot would be especially helpful in years that the common strain of the flu circulating the country drifts like this year.
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the vaccine issued this year is only 23 percent effective.
