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> This process works as follows: a person infected with a particular flu virus develops antibody against that virus. As antigenic changes accumulate, the antibo

> This process works as follows: a person infected with a particular flu virus develops antibody against that virus. As antigenic changes accumulate, the antibodies created against the older viruses no longer recognize the “newer” virus, and the person can get sick again. Genetic changes that result in a virus with different antigenic properties is the main reason why people can get the flu more than one time. This is also why the flu vaccine composition must be reviewed each year, and updated as needed to keep up with evolving viruses.

jimnotgym 9y ago
Yes that is how a vaccine works. This new drug is not a vaccine it is an anti-viral. It does not rely on immunity so it would be pointless to extrapolate your knowledge of vaccines to anti-virals. There is no information in the article to suggest that influenza is likely to be able to use a similar mutation strategy to become resistant to this anti-viral which has an entirely different method of operation. If you would like to post a source about anti-viral immunity then I would be interested to read it, but sources about vaccines are irrelevant.
- yeukhon 9y ago
  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/vaccine-selection.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/vaccine-selection.htm The information I gave was relevant and explained the correlation. But if you are not convinced, read above. Vaccine is one common way for an animal (including humans) to become immune to a targeted virus. That’s the purpose of receiving a vaccine, otherwise you would have to catch a real flu (of all classification) in order to develop immunity. As virus changes its structures, our immune system may not be able to recongize the new virus, thus we get sick, and therefore pharmaceutical companies have to develop a new vaccine. If flu virus doesn’t mutate, we would only have one type and one shot would be suffice for life time. I hope this helps.

jimnotgym 9y ago

Yes that is how a vaccine works. This new drug is not a vaccine it is an anti-viral. It does not rely on immunity so it would be pointless to extrapolate your knowledge of vaccines to anti-virals. There is no information in the article to suggest that influenza is likely to be able to use a similar mutation strategy to become resistant to this anti-viral which has an entirely different method of operation. If you would like to post a source about anti-viral immunity then I would be interested to read it, but sources about vaccines are irrelevant.

yeukhon 9y ago
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/vaccine-selection.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/vaccine-selection.htm The information I gave was relevant and explained the correlation. But if you are not convinced, read above. Vaccine is one common way for an animal (including humans) to become immune to a targeted virus. That’s the purpose of receiving a vaccine, otherwise you would have to catch a real flu (of all classification) in order to develop immunity. As virus changes its structures, our immune system may not be able to recongize the new virus, thus we get sick, and therefore pharmaceutical companies have to develop a new vaccine. If flu virus doesn’t mutate, we would only have one type and one shot would be suffice for life time. I hope this helps.