This headline from Scientific American reminds me of the motto behind Seinfeld. There will be “no hugging, no learning.” There’s little hugging in the U.S. to begin with; there’s even less learning. One need only look to the most recent example of November 5. But now H5N1 influenza virus continues to percolate in several states, waiting for a chance to make the species jump to humans and start an epidemic. Which—given our international mobility today—could then become a pandemic.

As with the recent Covid pandemic, there will be a delay between outbreak and vaccination. A vaccine construct will have to be created de novo, and may rely, in some cases, on almost ancient production methods. Sadly—remember, there is no learning—there is not likely to be a universal flu vaccine anytime soon so, we’re fated to continue trying to play catch up with the genetically unstable influenza A virus.