Why flu vaccines only last a year

A new study at Emory Vaccine Center gets into the bone marrow.

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  • Researchers at Emory Vaccine Center looked at bone marrow to better understand antibody production.
  • Due to constant mutations, identifying a "universal vaccine" has been challenging.
  • The team found that blood markers are reliable indicators of what's occurring inside of bone marrow.
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Promising COVID-19 studies show hope for long-lasting immunity

The immune system seems able to "remember" the coronavirus, and therefore able to prevent — or minimize the severity of — reinfection.

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  • A handful of new studies suggest that people who had been infected with COVID-19 had "memory" T cells that were able to facilitate a unique immune response against subsequent exposure to the virus.
  • "This calls for some optimism about herd immunity, and potentially a vaccine," Smita Iyer, an immunologist at the University of California, Davis told The New York Times.
  • Still, many questions remain about long-term immunity.
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Anti-vaxx groups spend nearly $1 billion on social media

Fear-mongering is now a billion-dollar industry.

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  • The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that anti-vaxx groups reach 58 million users on social media, earning the platforms roughly $1B in revenue.
  • The Center's founder, Imran Ahmed, says giving anti-vaxxers attention feeds the algorithms, further perpetuating the noise.
  • In this interview with Big Think, Ahmed says the best thing we can do is offer credible information to change the algorithms.
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Anti-vax disinformation spreads unchecked on Facebook

Despite fact check campaigns, anti-vaccination influence is growing.

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  • Despite announcing plans to combat disinformation, anti-vax groups continue to gain influence on Facebook.
  • An analysis of over 1,300 Facebook pages with 100 million followers shows that anti-vaccination agendas are having a profound impact.
  • Only 50 percent of Americans are certain they'll receive an approved COVID-19 vaccine.
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Century-old vaccine may lower coronavirus deaths, finds new study

A new study suggests that an old tuberculosis vaccine may reduce the severity of coronavirus cases.

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  • A new study finds a tuberculosis BCG vaccination is linked to its COVID-19 mortality rate.
  • More BCG vaccinations are connected to fewer severe coronavirus cases in East Germany.
  • The study is preliminary and more research is needed to support the findings.
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