A flu vaccine that protects you for life?

As children, we get a number of vaccines that last for years. Why not our annual flu vaccines? Right now, a new flu vaccine is created every year because the proteins on the virus that our immune system can recognize change from year to year. That means that if you become immune to one year’s strain of the flu, you won’t necessarily be immune to next year’s. While that in itself is a pain, it’s not that big of a deal. What is a big deal, however, is the fact that it takes at least six months to create a flu vaccine, which is a pretty serious time lag considering that flu pandemics can rage through populations long before a vaccine is ready. A new development gives hope for a flu vaccine that would protect patients for years. An even bigger bonus? It could be mass-produced within three weeks. And there are other advantages: It...