Focus on flu, not the new

From USA Today:

When Ebola struck with a vengeance in West Africa in 2014 or SARS was reported in Asia in 2003, the viruses dominated the news. In the end, while taking an enormous toll in Africa, Ebola killed two people in America, neither of whom contracted the disease in this country. SARS was diagnosed in just eight U.S. patients, and all recovered.

But the flu, neither exotic nor rare, garners too little attention and too few resources. It strikes millions of Americans and has killed anywhere from 12,000 to 56,000 annually in recent years. This year, in a particularly virulent flu season, 63 children have already died, along with many people in the prime of life. And this flu season still has weeks to go.

This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to release a report on the vaccine’s effectiveness this season, which is expected to be relatively low for adults. (Nonetheless, authorities say it’s still worth getting a flu shot, particularly for children.) Even in the best of years, the vaccine is at most 60 per cent effective.

How could this be for such routine disease?

It’s time for a “universal vaccine” that would protect against multiple versions of the flu for years, eliminate annual vaccinations and be consistently effective.

Surely, North America should invest in a better way to protect against a disease that sickens millions, costs billions of dollars in lost productivity and is fatal to thousands each year.