Could a single vaccine protect against multiple diseases? Ainslie Johnstone, The Economist’s data and science correspondent, joins Alok Jha, host of The Babbage podcast, to examine the latest advances in broad-spectrum vaccines and explain how they work with the immune system. These so-called “universal” jabs aim to defend against a range of threats, from respiratory viruses and bacterial infections to even allergens, offering a promising new way to reduce the impact of future pandemics.
00:00 - What if a universal coronavirus vaccine had existed at the start of the pandemic?
00:25 - How the immune system fights infections
02:13 - How vaccines can train the adaptive immune system
03:13 - Can the immune system be trained to fight more diseases?
05:20 - How scientists are trying to design broader spectrum vaccines
08:21 - Could universal vaccines be used alongside specific ones in the future?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4snlS8H
Scientists are working on “everything vaccines”: https://econ.st/47Q53vJ
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