**Note**: I just got my Flu and COVID-19 shot, so I’m not anti-vax, just curious to know more from people who are better educated on vaccines than I am.
I understand that it’s important for our immune systems to be exposed to viruses in order to build immunity, but why is it that diseases like Polio, Measles, Mumps, and Smallpox are basically nonexistent (save for random outbreaks) while thousands of people will get colds and flus each year and the best we can do is get a flu shot, wash our hands, mask in public spaces and hope you don’t come into contact with someone who’s sick? Could it ever be possible to make a vaccine that completely prevents people from getting colds or flus?
In: Other
The viruses that cause colds and flue have quite an unstable genetic makeup, and are prone to mutation, such that they are constantly changing.
This means that after some time, new strains of cold and flu are being passed round, you don’t have immunity, and you catch the infection.
It is therefore not really possible to create a generic cold vaccine. Sure, it will stop you getting that strain of the cold, but not the next strain.
Latest Answers