What if a single shot could protect you and your family members from all known flu viruses? That is what researchers are working on to make sure universal protection against the flu is at hand. 

A U.S. study published on Thursday detailed information on an experimental vaccine that showed early promise in providing broad protection against all 20 known influenza virus subtypes. 

Published within the peer-reviewed journal Science, the team behind it reported favorable ends in the initial testing phase involving mice and ferrets. The researchers said this might pave the approach to a universal flu shot that would prevent future pandemics. 

“Vaccines function an indispensable tool for the control and prevention of influenza, but several challenges remain. Some populations, for instance, the elderly, respond poorly to vaccination. Moreover, the highly variable nature of influenza viruses could make targeting optimal antigens difficult,” the team wrote. 

In response to the issue, the researchers developed a two-dose vaccine that employs the identical messenger RNA technology present in the COVID-19 shots developed by Moderna and Pfizer with BioNTech. 

The shot delivers tiny lipid particles of mRNA instructions prompting cells to make replicas of hemagglutinin proteins typically found on the surfaces of all 20 known influenza A and B virus subtypes. This manner, the vaccine may give protection against antigenically variable viruses by inducing antibodies against multiple antigens concurrently. 

Based on Reuters, this universal vaccine wouldn’t necessarily result in the top of flu seasons worldwide. Nevertheless, it could eliminate the guesswork that goes into making annual flu shots months before the flu season every yr. 

“The thought here is to have a vaccine that may give people a baseline level of immune memory to diverse flu strains in order that there shall be far less disease and death when the subsequent flu pandemic occurs,” said study leader Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine on the University of Pennsylvania. 

Hensley further explained that if successful in human trials, the universal flu vaccine wouldn’t prevent infections. But it would provide durable protection against severe illness and death attributable to the virus.