When can we get a universal flu vaccine? A flu-COVID-19 vaccine? A scientist weighs in.

For years, scientists have sought a universal flu vaccine — one that defends against all known types of the nasty virus — and recently there has been progress. University of Pennsylvania scientists reported they used the same mRNA platform from the COVID-19 vaccines to develop a shot that produced antibodies in animals against 20 subtypes of influenza — far more than the two or four in the seasonal vaccine. So what might people expect from such a vaccine in humans eventually, and in the meantime, as cases of the flu, plus RSV and COVID-19 swamp emergency departments and doctors’ offices? Here are some answers from Andrew Pekosz, a Johns Hopkins University flu researcher and professor in the department of molecular microbiology and immunology.