The flu shot failure of 2018 has reached epic proportions. So far there have been 63 pediatric deaths according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The worst part? We aren't even to the middle of February yet.
Now a Japanese drugmaker claims to have a solution. They claim to have developed a pill that will get rid of your flu in a day or less. Per The Wall Street Journal:
A late-stage trial on Japanese and American flu patients found that for the people who took the Shionogi 4507 -3.04% & Co. compound, the median time taken to wipe out the virus was 24 hours. That is much quicker than any other flu drug on the market, including Roche AG’sRHHBY -0.07% Tamiflu, which the trial showed took three times longer to achieve the same result. Quickly killing the virus could reduce its contagious effects, Shionogi said.
Also, Shionogi’s experimental drug requires only a single dose, while patients need to take two doses of Tamiflu a day, for five days.
Both Shionogi’s compound and Tamiflu take roughly the same amount of time to entirely contain flu symptoms, but Shionogi says its compound provides immediate relief faster.
Scientists at the Japanese company leveraged their work on a blockbuster anti-HIV drug to create the compound, which works differently from existing flu medicines. It blocks the flu virus from hijacking human cellular machinery, Chief Executive Isao Teshirogi said. Switzerland’s Roche has acquired the international license to distribute Shionogi’s experimental drug.
“The data that we’ve seen looks very promising,” said Martin Howell Friede, who leads the World Health Organization’s advisory on vaccines, including for influenza. “This could be a breakthrough in the way that we treat influenza.”
How poorly has the flu shot worked out this year? Well, it's been only 10% effective for the flu strain that has stricken the United States. If you are down and out with the flu right now, we have some bad news. This will not be available in the United States until next year at the earliest. It could be available in Japan as early as March. So potentially this could be the last year of taking Tamiflu and wiping you out for five days.
y’all remember when america was scared of ebola and only 2 americans died from it? well the flu is currently killing 4,000 americans a week.
— أسود (@nasmaraj) February 11, 2018
The flu is currently killing people at 5x the rate of the opioid crisis. https://t.co/eeNjnOi5Bv
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) February 11, 2018
I have to be honest. My pastor said, “Okay, now let’s take a minute to greet your neighbor” during church service.
As people extended their hands for shakes and opened their arms for hugs, I prayed, “God please don’t let them have the flu.” #FluSeason ?— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) February 11, 2018
Teacher on life support after catching deadly flu pic.twitter.com/zKwpuJWv0E
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) February 11, 2018
“The flu shot so many Americans got this year turned out to be only 10% effective against the strain that has spread across the U.S.”https://t.co/obwnsMoTBA
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) February 11, 2018
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