Submitted by AskScienceModerator t3_yxofvc in askscience
haley_bridgewater t1_iwrfpsx wrote
Reply to comment by johnwayne1 in AskScience AMA Series: We're Experts on Influenza (aka the Flu). AUA! by AskScienceModerator
The 1918 influenza is called the H1N1 strain and it is still around today. The flu differs from COVID-19 in one big way. Influenza virus mutates very quickly, which is why we need a new vaccine yearly that covers for different strains. Luckily with Influenza, you can get some protection against similar strains because the mutations are usually small changes. SARS-CoV-2, on the other hand does mutate, but not as rapidly. We don't yet know how our immune systems are going to respond to different strains of SARS-CoV-2. There is some evidence that previous infection with omicron can protect against other variants, but this is still under investigation.
[deleted] t1_iwsu0du wrote
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