Every year, the anticipated flu outbreak seizes the health of 5% to 20% of the U.S. population, forcing its victims to suffer through the long process of illness and recovery. The flu is thought to spread from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes, making it easily contagious, especially in public. Since the 2009 flu pandemic, or an influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the human population, scientists have been on a vigorous road to discovering a universal vaccine that can end this cycle. A vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, and a universal, or worldwide, version can end up saving lives. With different strains, or mutations of the original disease, this virus can have completely different symptoms every flu season. Recently, research was conducted by Imperial College London where a conclusion found that the flu was fought off by a surplus of CD8 T cells in a person’s body. This specific receptor cell latches onto an infected cell and kills it, creating the ideal vaccine.
The 2009 flu epidemic has raised the topic of introducing a universal vaccine to the general public, wondering if it’ll ever be familiarized in the near future. This vaccine would cover all forms of the flu, ranging from mild to extreme cases, and be open worldwide for anyone willing to pay. The Imperial College London has been working on this task ever since the swine flu pandemic of 2009: asking volunteers to donate blood samples and to report any symptoms they experienced over the next two flu seasons. After many weeks, they found that those who resisted severe illness had more CD8 T cells in their body at the start of the pandemic than of those who did not. It is believed by researchers that “a vaccine that stimulates the body to produce more of these cells could be effective at preventing flu viruses, including new strains that cross into humans from birds and pigs, from causing serious disease (Wong).” In the autumn of 2009, 342 staff and students at the Imperial College London participated in a natural experiment where they monitored the effects of the flu, emailing out a survey every three weeks asking about their health. If they were to experience any symptoms of the flu, they were to take a nasal swab and send it back to the lab. Professor Ajit Lalvani from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, who led the study, reports that they already know how to stimulate the immune system to make CD8 T cells by vaccination; they just have to test it rather than only go along with a natural experiment. Never has this vaccine been tested on a human, but now may be the revolution of flu medicine.
Imagine if a vaccine could be created that can immediately end all this illness. Imagine if the world wouldn’t have to suffer through the epidemic that caused people to be wary about being near anyone else ever again. Imagine if the flu wouldn’t even have to exist anymore. This can easily become reality if the universal flu vaccine is completed. The flu affects people worldwide, killing 500,000 to half a million people per year, only to come around the next year to repeat this dreadful progression. Rather than let this cycle continue, wouldn’t it be better to have it end? Citizens of third world countries that can’t afford meals obviously won’t be able to fight off the flu annually, so a vaccine that can last forever instead of a year is definitely superior. Not to mention the fact that living in populated places like the eastern U.S. and Europe, it is easier to spread contagious diseases because people are living right on top of each other. To some, this virus is merely an illness that is maddening, but remember there are poorer families who are trying to feed themselves who live in these populated places too. Imagine: if they struggle to buy regular products that we wouldn’t think twice about, while struggling with a disease, it can be a risky combo. Not enough money to afford a vaccine can result in death, but all in all this vaccine can save hundreds of thousands of lives.
In the summer of 2009, the first symptoms of the swine flu began with my youngest sister. As it worked its way through my family, causing fatigue, body aches, and nausea and vomiting, my turn, inevitably, was next. My experiences show that I suffered through this illness like someone who has a lesser amount of CD8 T cells. My dad, who also had H1N1 and went through the process of being sick, didn’t have the same symptoms as me; he went through the virus as if it was a cold or stomach bug, recovering quickly similar to one with a larger amount of CD8 T cells. The fact that the professional research conducted showed a pattern of trustworthy information, it is definite that CD8 T cells play an important role in the universal flu vaccine.