NIH Official Warns of Catastrophe Without Universal Flu Shot

The world remains vulnerable to another influenza pandemic that could cause a “catastrophe,” the nation’s top infectious disease scientist said Nov. 13.

Anthony S. Fauci was making the case for developing a universal flu vaccine, which he called a crucial step to averting another global health crisis like the 1918 Spanish Influenza. Dubbed “the mother of all pandemics,” that flu infected about one-third of the world’s population, or about 500 million people. Death estimates vary, but go up to 100 million.

“Our public health infrastructure has improved greatly. But without a universal flu vaccine, a single virus would ...