• Question: How do scientists know how to make a flu vaccine if viruses can be different every year?

    Asked by meg123 to Amy, Karen, Sarah, Will on 20 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Sarah Martin

      Sarah Martin answered on 20 Jun 2012:

      Hi meg!

      They first have to wait until the first viruses hit, then they identify the surface proteins on them and make a virus with those same proteins on it but remove the ability of it to actually infect us and reproduce and make us ill by removing other proteins it needs. That’s what people then get as the flu vaccine, and that makes them produce molecules in their blood that recognise the surface proteins and that clump all the viruses together and stop them being able to infect us.

      Great question! 🙂 Sarah

    • Photo: Amy Birch

      Amy Birch answered on 20 Jun 2012:

      Hi meg,
      The flu vaccine is usually a mix of a two or three of the more common flu viruses that are going around, and because it is a seasonal flu it is possible to look at countries in the southern hemisphere who have their winters in our summers to see what were the most common flus for them. This give scientists clues as to which flu is going to be most common for us!
      Hope this answers your question 🙂

Comments