| Date | 24th, Mar 2021 |
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A depiction of a nanoparticle vaccine that contains proteins from many different flu strains. Credit: UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design
Scientists at UW Medicine and the NIH have created experimental flu shots that spur broad immunity in animal trials.
Researchers have developed experimental flu shots that protect animals from a wide variety of seasonal and pandemic influenza strains. The vaccine product is currently being advanced toward clinical testing. If proven safe and effective, these next-generation influenza vaccines may replace current seasonal options by providing protection against many more strains that current vaccines do not adequately cover.
A study detailing how the new flu vaccines were designed and how they protect mice, ferrets, and nonhuman primates appears in the March 24, 2021, edition of the journal Nature. This work was led by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Vaccine
Research Center part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.
Influenza virus causes an estimated 290,000-650,000 deaths per year. Available flu vaccines, which need to be taken seasonally, often fail to protect against many circulating flu strains that cause illness, and the threat of another influenza pandemic looms.
