Universal Flu Vaccine Shows Promise

[Justanothergamer300]

But then comes Hamster flu oh no what will we do

 

[Cpu46]

Is it safe to get such a boost in white cell count?

Any time you get infected you get a major boost in white blood cells and all this is doing is train them to recognize and combat the flu better. I don't see a problem with this unless you already have a problem with your immune system... or the vaccine turns us into mindless zombie like monsters.

 

[PrinceofPersia]

Go Science! Now where are those flying cars you promised?

OT: I love it when science makes progress but wouldn't it be better to find someway to make an improved human immune systems? You know just in case the little buggers mutate into super viruses?

 

[DragonManRen]

Wow, I don't think the author of this article understands how evolution or vaccines work.

Also, some of the posters here are apparently thinking this will make us into some sterile-environment-raised freaks who will fall like chumps to the next disease. That's silly. It works by boosting the capabilities of our immune system to fight off a specific type of infection. Bolstering the immune system is in no way lowering the body's defenses. It's pretty much the exact opposite of that.

OT: I love it when science makes progress but wouldn't it be better to find someway to make an improved human immune systems? You know just in case the little buggers mutate into super viruses?

That's pretty much exactly what they did. They're making the human immune system into a complete influenza-destroyer, wrecking the virus before it does much damage to the body.

 

[luckycharms8282]

"In fact, the periodic attempts at infection by the flu virus would act like a booster shot, updating our white cell's antibodies and knowledge of viruses. "


Wouldnt that cause the virus to evolve anyway?

 

[Baresark]

It's not worth getting a vaccine for something that doesn't have a high mortality rate, with the exception of special populations. I have never even had the Flu and I'm 29 years old. Things that have high mortality rates and/or a chance to cause longterm health problems make sense. But not this, not now, not ever.

 

[That_Swedish_Guy]

Movies and gaming have taught me that a 'universal' vaccine will invariably mutate and start the zombie apocalypse.

Oh it sounds good on paper, but...

Have you read The Andromeda Strain by Michael Chichton? There's a part of it where a universal vaccine is discovered, but it works kind of like the spice on Dune. If you take it once then you have to keep taking it until you die.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

The All Cureative Flu Vaccine Pill! Only $2,000 per treatment.

Too many of these wonder drugs and we will be like the Quarrians in Mass Effect, confined to environmental clean suits in our own homes.

 

[Firia]

This sounds great. I can't wait for an enhancement in flu combat drugs. But I still think the REAL gem in future medicine is gene therapy! (And I'm not going to get into it, so you're welcome to tell me how flawed this is. Just don't quote me, cause I don't want to get a message telling me you disagree. Thanks.)

 

[OniaPL]

Too bad that the H1N1 vaccine may have caused narcolepsy, at least in Scandinavia. Hopefully they will test this vaccine before putting it out.

 

[Pilkingtube]

Not a good thing honestly. We are made to ADAPT. If we never get sick again then our immunity will get weaker. The saying " That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is completely true.

Plus the current Flu Shot does not work anyways so one step closer means squat.

You seem to have missed how the system actually works, it stimulates a response from YOUR immune system, it doesn't provide some sort of magical defense. Additionally, you aren't immune from any flu with this shot, your immune system is simply more prepared for an infection instead, so you suffer less symptoms.

 

[draythefingerless]

Not a good thing honestly. We are made to ADAPT. If we never get sick again then our immunity will get weaker. The saying " That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is completely true.

Plus the current Flu Shot does not work anyways so one step closer means squat.

You seem to have missed how the system actually works, it stimulates a response from YOUR immune system, it doesn't provide some sort of magical defense. Additionally, you aren't immune from any flu with this shot, your immune system is simply more prepared for an infection instead, so you suffer less symptoms.

Wich is, what i believe, the appropriate way to artificially play with our body using substances. I never liked vaccines because they are counter productive to us and somewhat dangerous. The only one i recall being somewhat more precarious is the Tetanus vaccine.

Anyway, to all the knowledgeable members, this vaccine is actually a weakened version of the other ones, where your body will get infected(there you go, you got what you wanted, body getting sick to boost the immune system) with elements common in all Influenza viruses, making it a one time vaccine, causing drastically smaller ammount of problems from the flu, while still leaving space for it NOT to mutate. Its the optimal safeguard for diseases.

 

[sosolidshoe]

Not a good thing honestly. We are made to ADAPT. If we never get sick again then our immunity will get weaker. The saying " That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is completely true.

Plus the current Flu Shot does not work anyways so one step closer means squat.

I take it you didn't bother to read the article. You still get "sick" after receiving this vaccination, what the vaccine does is "prime" your immune system so that it responds to the invasion much, much more quickly. Thus, it both limits or even eliminates the symptoms of the flu(which can be deadly among vulnerable groups), AND requires your body's immune response to keep working and adapting.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Tell that to those left brain-damaged by Meningococcal Meningitis, or crippled by Polio, or pregnant women who caught Rubella during pregnancy and subsequently gave birth to children with CRS, or the survivors of the 1918 Flu Pandemic who were struck down with encephalitis.

Vaccines save lives, and I wish people would bloody well inform themselves before they start spouting nonsense, all that achieves is enhancing the ignorance that the anti-vax movement feeds on.

 

[boholikeu]

Yeah....I'm a bit wary of this. The human immune system when it's working properly doesn't need to be vaccinated(much. While it is entirely possible to survive things like ebola and polio, the mortality rates are high enough that it's worth the risk of vaccination). However, these vaccinations are no substitute for the actual first-hand experience with the bacteria and viruses that make us sick. And I'm sure there are going to be people that are going to quote me saying "You just want people to suffer!", but the fact is that you develop immunity by getting sick. Your body learns the disease and learns to combat it with W blood cells, lymphocytes, and antibodies. Vaccinations introduce a weakened version of whatever disease it is and your body only learns to fight the weakened version, leaving you vulnerable when the actual virus shows up. Furthermore, vaccinations only really work on those that already have a strong immune system. Introduced into the body of someone with an already compromised immune system, it can be just as deadly as giving a healthy person the full virus.

I'm not saying that vaccine research isn't important, but I worry that people are going to treat this as a magic bullet and then we're going to have an epidemic when a new strain of influenza comes out, one that's more resistant/antagonistic or different enough for the vaccine to not apply.

how do you think vaccines, especially THIS vaccine, works?

The same way every vaccine works. And since I know that I will never be taken credibly on this site and wikipedia is, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine

However, here's the tl:dr. A vaccine works by infecting you with a weakened or dead version of the bacteria/virus under controlled conditions. It makes you sick on a smaller scale so that your body recognises the bigger infection when it comes. It essentially says when the blue bacteria comes, counter it with blue antibodies. This is a first line of defense, however vaccines do NOT, that is, they do NOT guaruntee that you cannot be infected by the same bacteria virus even if you are vaccinated. Your body learns to fight the disease off, but in a smaller and weaker state. This is good for a simple chance encounter, touching a contiminated doorknob, shaking a contaminated hand, however if you are, say, sitting next to a contiminate person on a plane for a few hours, your body is not prepared for the full strength infection on that scale.

This vaccine, according to the article, uses a modified virus encoded with the protiens for pretty much every known strain of influenza, however it does not(and cannot) safeguard you against future different strains, and in that way it is exactly the same as your own immune system. Here's a fun fact: How many times have you had a cold in your lifetime? Each one was a different strain of rhinovirus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinovirus]. You got sick, you fought it off, and your body remembered it through Immunological Memory [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immune_system#Immunological_memory]. So this vaccine cannot prepare you for any future versions of the influenza virus, because your body has not experienced and learned it yet.

My problem isn't with the vaccine, it's with people. People will believe that this vaccine is a magic bullet of some sort, and they will forget about, statisticly speaking, one of the deadliest viruses to ever roam the face of the earth.

Snipped for space

Well said. Anybody that says the recent spread of swine flu was an epidemic has no idea what an epidemic is. But there will be people who will take this vaccine, and then think they have nothing to worry about, completely disregarding everything they should do to remain healthy. And then wonder why they suddenly get laid low by a bug that their body could have dealt with if it was in good shape.

We need to build our immune systems, or we're gonna get wiped out by some petty virus that overpowers us

Not a good thing honestly. We are made to ADAPT. If we never get sick again then our immunity will get weaker. The saying " That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is completely true.

Plus the current Flu Shot does not work anyways so one step closer means squat.

It's not worth getting a vaccine for something that doesn't have a high mortality rate, with the exception of special populations. I have never even had the Flu and I'm 29 years old. Things that have high mortality rates and/or a chance to cause longterm health problems make sense. But not this, not now, not ever.

I don't think you guys realize how vaccines work. This will not make your immune system weaker; it will actually make it stronger.

Getting a vaccination is like training your immune system. The vaccine has a disabled version of the virus in it, and when it's introduced into your body your immune system learns how to deal with that specific virus. That way, when you get the actual living virus (or a variant of it) your body will already be well equipped to deal with it.

ShadowKatt implies that we'll still be vulnerable to full-blown, living viruses. While that's true, an un-vaccinated individual would still be much worse off. In his example, someone who got the vaccine might still get sick after sitting next to an ill person on the airplane. Yes, it might happen, but someone that didn't have the vaccine would be sick for much longer. Also, if many people got the vaccine, the chances of you encountering an ill person would me much lower anyway due to the phenomenon of herd immunity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity

Which brings us to another subject. You should get vaccinations even if you are perfectly healthy (provided there are no shortages). Why? Because you being immune protects those around you that can't get vaccinations (infants, pregnant mothers, and people with compromised immune systems). If you spend a lot of time around someone that falls into this category, or if you are thinking about having a child soon, getting a vaccination could very well save their life.

Now before you respond, let me just say that your logic does work when we're talking about antibiotics and anti-bacterial products. Those work differently, so it can be argued that their over-use can lead to a population with weaker immune systems. Perhaps you were getting them confused with vaccines, or thought that they worked similarly.

 

[Digikid]

Not a good thing honestly. We are made to ADAPT. If we never get sick again then our immunity will get weaker. The saying " That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is completely true.

Plus the current Flu Shot does not work anyways so one step closer means squat.

I take it you didn't bother to read the article. You still get "sick" after receiving this vaccination, what the vaccine does is "prime" your immune system so that it responds to the invasion much, much more quickly. Thus, it both limits or even eliminates the symptoms of the flu(which can be deadly among vulnerable groups), AND requires your body's immune response to keep working and adapting.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Tell that to those left brain-damaged by Meningococcal Meningitis, or crippled by Polio, or pregnant women who caught Rubella during pregnancy and subsequently gave birth to children with CRS, or the survivors of the 1918 Flu Pandemic who were struck down with encephalitis.

Vaccines save lives, and I wish people would bloody well inform themselves before they start spouting nonsense, all that achieves is enhancing the ignorance that the anti-vax movement feeds on.

THat was a funny post you just made. You are a fool if you honestly believe that nonsense.

And I DID read the article thank you very much.

Now for those fools that posted about amputees.....NOT THE SAME THING. We are talking about IN the body.....not the appendages of it. Nice try though.

I sent this off to a friend of mine that actually IS a doctor.....he thinks that this is a bad idea and I agree with him.

 

[samsonguy920]

Big Snip

I know quite well about how vaccines work, but I also know quite well how quite a few people's mindsets work. If this new vaccine is released and gets touted as a flubuster, then quite a lot of people will take it and assume that this is the actual cure for the flu and nothing else will be required. That is my concern in this case that many people won't bother to exercise those needs to keep their body healthy and their immune system strong. This vaccine isn't going to mean anything if by the next winter people have let their immune system go to pot, destroying any buildup that the vaccine encouraged. Maybe even removing other immunity factors that were built up before then.
This isn't a cure-all, but more a better version of B12. It would be better to advertise it as just another flu shot and help keep people in the mindset that they need to keep themselves in good shape to beat any kind of bug winter or other situations present.

 

[littlewisp]

Not a good thing honestly. We are made to ADAPT. If we never get sick again then our immunity will get weaker. The saying " That which does not kill you makes you stronger" is completely true.

Plus the current Flu Shot does not work anyways so one step closer means squat.

Wait, but the point of the vaccine isn't to prevent you from getting sick, it's to prevent the symptoms. So really, you still get infected with the flu, but all you experience is a runny nose and then your body learns how to beef itself up on its own.

Sounds interesting and potentially win to me!

 

[boholikeu]

Big Snip

I know quite well about how vaccines work, but I also know quite well how quite a few people's mindsets work. If this new vaccine is released and gets touted as a flubuster, then quite a lot of people will take it and assume that this is the actual cure for the flu and nothing else will be required. That is my concern in this case that many people won't bother to exercise those needs to keep their body healthy and their immune system strong. This vaccine isn't going to mean anything if by the next winter people have let their immune system go to pot, destroying any buildup that the vaccine encouraged. Maybe even removing other immunity factors that were built up before then.
This isn't a cure-all, but more a better version of B12. It would be better to advertise it as just another flu shot and help keep people in the mindset that they need to keep themselves in good shape to beat any kind of bug winter or other situations present.

Exactly what kind of actions are you talking about here? I don't see people being particularly cautious about their immune systems anyway, so a vaccine seems like it would actually help people strengthen their defenses.

 

[jpoon]

Psssshhh, I have a hard time trusting anything from a pharma corp. They'll do just about anything to net themselves billions. Try not taking flu shots at all and stop subjecting yourself to a concoction of toxins and chemicals, then you'll probably see flu rates go down.