The Chase for a Universal Flu Vaccine is Picking Up Speed

Every October (or earlier), the call goes up that it’s time for patients to get their annual flu shot. Urgent care providers are inundated with messages from all corners of healthcare, pleading with them to vaccinate as many people as time and patient preference allows. Advances in artificial intelligence could put a stop to that at some point, however. No, it can’t program patients to follow your advice by getting immunized. Rather, as noted in a recent blog post on Velocity Urgent Care’s website, AI is speeding the pursuit of a universal flu vaccine that could last anywhere from 20 years to a lifetime, largely negating the need for annual flu drives. As you know, especially if you read An Urgent Care Approach to Influenza—Before Onset in JUCM, annual flu shots are necessary at present because different strains of influenza circulate every year; each year’s vaccine is formulated based on the best intelligence available. While the system works very well at lowering the risk for flu—including related hospitalizations and deaths—it’s based on educated guesses. New research suggests there may be patterns in how influenza viruses evolve every year; this could help researchers in devising a vaccine that targets more strains than is possible at present. In the meantime, take heart in knowing that your efforts to convince patients they really do need a flu shot may be paying off. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of children and teens vaccinated was up nearly 7% over last year, as of mid-November; coverage among adults was up 6.4% for the same period.