What is the best line of defence in an influenza pandemic?
Vaccines are the best line of defence in reducing illness and deaths during normal seasonal influenza. The vaccine has to change each year as the viruses circulating change. This can be done because the changes can be fairly reliably predicted. Vaccines can also play an important role in responding to an influenza pandemic but because the virus will be entirely new and not predictable in the same way, a specific vaccine cannot be made in advance. Preparatory work is being undertaken to be in the best possible position to produce vaccine against a pandemic strain when the situation arises, but they are unlikely to be available in the early stages.
