Yikes: bigger and badder flu shots getting closer
Seniors are smack in the crosshairs of the latest — and not so greatest — flu shot idea to come down Big Pharma’s pike.
It’s called the “universal flu vaccine” — and right now, UK researchers are recruiting 500 human guinea pigs over the age of 65 to take part in trials all over Britain.
And that’s not all.
A Wisconsin biotech-pharma company is currently organizing a human trial with its version of a universal shot here in the U.S., and a company in Israel has yet another plan to come up with a jab.
But what we don’t know about these latest vaccines under development could fill a book.
And it’s quite possible that once you roll up your sleeve for this shot, its effect on your body could be something you’ll literally be “stuck” with for a long time… if not for life.
A journey into the unknown
A universal flu shot, one that will protect you from any virus strain that comes along, is being called the “holy grail” of the vaccine world.
Why, the first drugmaker to get one on the market will have riches beyond its wildest dreams flowing in!
For us, however, it may be the biggest medical crapshoot ever.
Two years ago, we first warned you about this idea. Back then, the National Institutes of Health were fiddling with one that would kill the “stem,” or the part of the virus said to stay fairly consistent (whereas the head of a virus frequently mutates).
At that time, we told you how risky it can be to simply have exposure to pieces of a virus — something called “fusion enhancing” that was studied on pigs some years back, with pretty disastrous results for the pigs.
But that’s just one plan. Researchers are going hog-wild to come up with something — anything –that could be sold under the banner of universal protection.
Plan A: Since the traditional flu shot, which works on the theory of using a killed virus (and other things) to cause an antibody response, is so undependable, UK scientists from Oxford University and a new pharma company called Vaccitech have come up with this: Make a vaccine using the “core protein” found in most all influenza-A viruses that will stimulate your immune system to start cranking out T-cells (instead of antibodies) to kill the virus.
Plan B: Over in Wisconsin, mad scientists at a company called FluGen are whipping up RedeeFlu a shot made from a live flu virus that has a “key gene” called M2 deleted. Since this virus hasn’t been deactivated, it will “infect cells” inside your body until an active immune response is mounted to kill it. The company working on it says that “thanks to the deleted gene,” it can’t cause illness or spread to others. Fingers and toes crossed on that one.
Plan C: Meanwhile, BiondVax Pharmaceuticals out of Israel is in the midst of conducting trials on its universal version with a secret-agent-sounding name, M-001. The company’s chief science officer calls it a “unique and innovative” vaccine, one that is made from nine different influenza particles. The company has already leased space and begun construction on a manufacturing plant in Jerusalem.
That’s just a short sample — and it’s impossible to know how many more variations on this theme are being developed behind closed doors.
Look, whichever gets to market first will be called the latest and greatest way to protect yourself against the flu. And the CDC will be pushing it like no vaccine that’s ever come before. Just remember that while all this might sound good on paper, the real testing will begin when millions of us get a jab with it.
Of course, the best way to avoid getting the flu is to have a strong immune system. And you can do that with the help of supplements like selenium, zinc, olive leaf extract, and vitamin D.
And of course, that old standby — wash your hands like you really mean it!
“Oxford team to test universal flu vaccine in world first” Ben Hirschler, October 3, 2017, Reuters, reuters.com
