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Could The NIH Plan For A ‘Universal Vaccine’ Really Work? episode artwork

May 28, 2025 27 min

Could The NIH Plan For A ‘Universal Vaccine’ Really Work?

from Science Friday Hosted by Flora Lichtman, Ira Flatow

At the beginning of May, the National Institutes of Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced a plan to develop a universal vaccine platform. Think: a single shot for flu or COVID-19 that would last years, maybe a lifetime. The plan—called Generation Gold Standard—has a reported budget of $500 million, and a tight deadline. But will it work? And where does the science on this actually stand? In this live broadcast, Hosts Flora Lichtman and Ira Flatow talk with epidemiologist Michael Osterholm and vaccine researcher Ted Ross. Guests: Michael Osterholm is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Ted Ross is the global director of vaccine research at the Cleveland Clinic’s Florida Research and Innovation Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Transcript will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow us on socials @ scifri on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Bluesky and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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The plan raises some eyebrows, as some in the Trump administration have been skeptical of vaccines and moved to limit vaccine access.

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Could The NIH Plan For A ‘Universal Vaccine’ Really Work?

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