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Are they a conspiracy? I ask because I thought we could only get sick with a disease once and then our bodies would always remember how to fight off the disease, right? For example, chicken pox is a viral disease and I've heard once you get it you never get it again.

I spent some time searching on the net but there's different stuff saying anywhere from : There are no "real" cures to any viral diseases. And others say the body takes about 4 weeks to actually develop the antibodies to a certain disease. Well I thought antibodies could only attack bacterial illnesses not viral because viruses are too small. And others say you can't kill a virus because it's not alive to begin with.

Here’s my real question. I understand viruses mutate but how do these pharmaceutical companies already know the vaccine? How is it that every year they already have the new flu shot ready for sale? How do they know exactly what kind of flu shot to make? Do they already know how the virus will mutate? Or is it a conspiracy just so the pharmaceutical companies will earn millions and billions?

I've only gotten the flu once in the last 5 years; I've never needed them.

road_rage wrote:Here’s my real question. I understand viruses mutate but how do these pharmaceutical companies already know the vaccine? How is it that every year they already have the new flu shot ready for sale? How do they know exactly what kind of flu shot to make? Do they already know how the virus will mutate? Or is it a conspiracy just so the pharmaceutical companies will earn millions and billions?

Ask a doctor? Also, it's their job dude, they work for month on those things. Erm, thousands of people.

This belongs in entertainment, because that's all this thread will bring.

Flight wrote:This belongs in entertainment, because that's all this thread will bring.

Your probably right. I'm also doubting anyone will actually address the question but you never know...Anyway if no one actually addresses the question can you delete this entire thread...or move it.

-sigh-
I guess I'll do it.

The way the flu works is that you can only catch each strain of it once, because, yes, it is viral, and that was correct, you do build an immunity. However, the flu (amongst other viruses) mutate rather quickly, and thus you are able to catch it again. You have no immunity to the newer strains.

And in regard to the "conspiracy", they don't have a vaccine to the newest strain (unless it hasn't mutated recently), but rather of the previous one encountered, as it is still existent and infectious, otherwise the swine flu would never have been a problem; Notice how the vaccine is only out now, with the virus having been around for quite some time.

lol, there are only a handful of diseases that having once will provide a lifetime vaccine. Other diseases, such as the fuggin' flu, can affect you many, many times throughout your life.
The flu shot is actually a tiny, tiny amount of the flu virus. You're given this amount so that your immune system will detect it and prepare itself to fight against the flu, so when another instance of the virus comes into your system from the wild, your immune system is already fully prepared to handle it. Your immune system will calm down after a while, though, so it's not a permanent vaccine, and you need to continue getting flu shots during flu season to have that preventative measure.
I can't say I rightly know why the flu is more prevalent at a certain time of the year, though.

road_rage wrote:How do they know exactly what kind of flu shot to make?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_ ... lu_vaccine

"The Global Influenza Surveillance Network's selection of viruses for the vaccine manufacturing process is based on its best estimate of which strains will be predominant the next year, amounting in the end to well-informed but fallible guesswork."