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Debating the transparency surrounding risky pathogen research
Experts are trying to figure out how much the public should know about experiments that could make pathogens, such as viruses, more transmissible or more deadly. Scientists conduct this type of research in order to better understand how…
Keeping perspective on the coronavirus outbreak
News about the coronavirus that recently spread from Wuhan, China, has increasingly made headlines and filled news segments, yet epidemiologists and infectious disease experts are cautioning the public against panicking. “We don’t have evidence yet to suggest this…
Measles can wipe out immune system memory, increase vulnerability to other infections
Measles, in and of itself a severe and sometimes deadly disease, can also cause lasting harm to the immune system and leave people vulnerable to other serious infections, such as flu or pneumonia, according to a new study.…
Why it’s important to get a flu shot—especially this year
The U.S. may be in for a bad flu season this year, and health experts are urging people to get a flu shot as soon as possible. “September or October is a good time to get [the vaccine]…
When to get a flu vaccine? Later may be better.
It’s “probably best” for people to wait to later in the flu season to get a flu shot, according to Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Lipsitch, who was quoted in…
Transparency needed around potentially dangerous experiments on deadly viruses
In late 2017, the U.S. government lifted a three-year moratorium on funding risky research to genetically alter deadly viruses in ways that could make them even more lethal. Scientists including Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H.…
Best time for a flu shot? Before Halloween.
Although flu season lasts for months, experts say it’s best to get a flu vaccine by the end of October. An October 8, 2018 article in FiveThirtyEight discussed how long immunity protection lasts after a flu shot and…
Off the Cuff: The 1918 Flu in 2018
If the 1918 flu virus—which killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide—were to appear in 2018 with all its lethality, would we be better or worse off than we were a century ago?
Past encounters with the flu shape vaccine response
Immune history influences vaccine effectiveness, interacting with other potential problems arising from the manufacturing process For immediate release: February 20, 2018 New research on why the influenza vaccine was only modestly effective in recent years shows that immune…
Getting to a better flu vaccine
Researchers are working on new methods for developing vaccines, including utilizing different animal proteins or a genetically engineered live virus, and are also working to develop a universal flu vaccine.