For one hundred years, public health professionals had been working to prepare the world for the next pandemic. They were worried about flu viruses as they have the potential to start a new pandemic. The earlier major global pandemic of 1918, which killed tens of millions of people, is believed to be due to a flu virus. That was the reason that sophisticated laboratories around the world were established to track influenza viruses, which then could help in producing effective vaccines.

The problem with flu viruses is that they are not one type of virus, and they change rapidly to undermine our defences. This year, Influenza A (H3N2) is the predominant strain. That means in many areas it is being found in 80-90% of influenza cases. Influenza A H3N2 is not a new virus, but it's more virulent or deadly than other Influenza A viruses. In 2022-2023, when H3N2 was the........

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