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somewhat_random t1_j9v9x5w wrote

If the annual flue vaccine is based on "best guess" from the strains circulating in the opposite hemisphere the previous year, could they nit just include H5N1 in the vaccine for next autumn or is it already too late for that?

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punkrockscience t1_j9vqnku wrote

Prediction of what goes into the yearly vaccine is about a year or more out from the flu season it gets administered in. To make the flu vaccine, the flu virus (or viruses, since the seasonal vaccine usually contains multiple strains) has to be cultured in millions of eggs, isolated, purified, combined, and turned into vaccine. It’s a very slow process.

This is one of the reasons that an mRNA vaccine for flu could be such a groundbreaker. The turnaround time is potentially much shorter.

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alwaysjustpretend t1_j9vv6ts wrote

Yup. Inoculation > incubation >candling > harvesting > first filtering > centrifuge filtering > sterile filtration > more sterile filtration > filling> packaging >shipping.

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