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IFLScience The Big Questions: Will We Ever Have A Universal Flu Vaccine?

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clock-iconPUBLISHEDAugust 14, 2025
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IFLScience The Big Questions: Will We Ever Have A Universal Flu Vaccine?

Sci-fi pipe dream or closer than we think? Let's find out.

Laura Simmons headshot

Laura Simmons

Laura Simmons headshot

Laura Simmons

Health & Medicine Editor

Laura holds a Master's in Experimental Neuroscience and a Bachelor's in Biology from Imperial College London. Her areas of expertise include health, medicine, psychology, and neuroscience.

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Health & Medicine Editor

Laura holds a Master's in Experimental Neuroscience and a Bachelor's in Biology from Imperial College London. Her areas of expertise include health, medicine, psychology, and neuroscience.View full profile

Laura holds a Master's in Experimental Neuroscience and a Bachelor's in Biology from Imperial College London. Her areas of expertise include health, medicine, psychology, and neuroscience.

View full profile
A smartphone showing season 5 of The Big Questions, on background of gloved hands inserting a needle into a vaccine vial

Could we one day conquer the flu?

Image credit: Melinda Nagy/Shutterstock.com; modified by IFLScience

Lining up for your seasonal flu shot is an annual ritual, but what if it didn't have to be this way? Wouldn't it be great if we could develop a universal vaccine that could protect us against all current and future virus strains? 

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Host Laura Simmons speaks to Dr Florian Krammer, a professor in vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, to find out just how far humanity has reached in our quest to finally conquer the flu with an all-purpose vaccine.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more.

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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDAugust 14, 2025

Written by Laura Simmons

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