It’s time for a new flu vaccine

In light of the massive outbreak of influenza we are experiencing throughout the country, many are asking what’s with that flu vaccine? Does it even work? Why get the flu vaccine every year if it doesn’t help? Just like many other issues in medicine, this one is quite complex.

Background

Though we have made progress over the past century, the influenza vaccine continues to be much less effective than we would like. Since 2004, the average effectiveness of the vaccine has been only 40.9%. The range is as low as 10% in 2004-2005 and as high as 60% in 2010-2011.

An article in 2008 published in the American Journal of Public Health looked at historical deaths related to influenza since the early 1900s. In this study, it found that the number of deaths has decreased from around 10 per 100,000 people in the early 1900s to around 0.56 per 100,000 people in the 1990s.

The article hypothesizes that increased public health awareness, including the vaccine, could be responsible for this decrease in deaths. It would be appropriate to also postulate that our advances in medical care could have helped to prevent a number of deaths as well, including antibiotics for complications of influenza such as pneumonia, and critical care innovations.

On average, influenza was ranked number 8 in regards to number of yearly deaths in the United States in 2014, with an average of 55,000 deaths/year in the country. The leading cause of death was heart disease with over 600,000 deaths, followed closely by all cancers around 590,000 deaths per year.

Though the number of deaths related to influenza appears significantly lower than the top 2 leading causes, the number of hospitalizations and resources used to treat influenza, as well as days off work and decreased productivity, are significant. It is estimated that around 7% of the population in the United States, almost 23 million people, saw a doctor for influenza-like-illness this year alone, while many others were likely affected.

The CDC states that the flu vaccine is important, either for preventing influenza, or for decreasing the severity of the flu if you do contract the virus. I agree that the vaccine has significantly helped our society since it was created, and I would not refute the benefits of getting vaccinated. But I believe that the efficacy is still woefully lower than it should be with the current science and technology available.

The Problem

Shouldn’t there be a better vaccine to significantly reduce the number of influenza cases or potentially rid the world of the flu? There are a number of scientists working on what has been termed a “universal” vaccine for influenza.

Why isn’t it already available, considering our current vaccine has been around for over 50 years? What I found, as is the case with many other issues in society, is that it simply comes down to the money available for influenza research.

While federal research funding on heart disease is estimated to be $1.05 billion and research on cancers is estimated to be $4.7 billion, influenza research from federal funds was just $230 million in 2017. That may seem like a lot of money, but the amount actually dedicated to vaccine research is very small, estimated around $80 million, with only $30 million devoted to the universal influenza vaccine.

Our current process of using eggs to grow the virus and predicting which strain of the flu could plague society for the coming year is completely antiquated. This leaves our population vulnerable to severe illness as we are seeing this year.

The “hopeful” light at the end of the tunnel

Consequently, private companies are forced to find investors willing to fund universal vaccine research.

While the current vaccine focuses on creating antibodies to proteins on the influenza virus that change each year, which is the reason influenza has been so difficult to control, new techniques focus on regions of the virus that are “conserved” each year (do not change), ultimately making the vaccine more universal.

Another technique aims to modify the flu virus so that it can infect humans without replicating. By preventing replication, the hope is that humans can create immunity without the symptoms of a true infection.

These companies as well as others are working tirelessly to create a vaccine that will actually work the way a vaccine is supposed to work. It is time that the government focused some energy (and money) on making a vaccine that is more effective. The impact would be enormous in a world where influenza affects millions of people each year.

Conclusion

Though scientists say it is unlikely we will ever completely rid society of influenza, we can certainly make the flu season much more bearable with a universal vaccine. Until this is available, you should take the only steps available to prevent yourself from getting the virus. Unfortunately that includes playing the guessing game by getting the current vaccine, washing your hands frequently, and staying away from crowded areas. Let’s hope a new vaccine comes before another bad season arrives.

What do you think? Should we already have a “universal” flu vaccine? Comment below.