Nature editorial - Facing up to flu
The potential for mutant-flu research to improve public health any time soon has been exaggerated. Timely production of sufficient vaccine remains the biggest challenge.
Nature. 2012 Feb 8;482(7384):131. doi: 10.1038/482131a
“The fact that the risks seem to far outweigh the public-health benefits of the research, at least in the short term, means that there is no need to rush headlong into an expansion of the work. Rather, regulators and flu researchers must take whatever time they need to decide the best way for such work to proceed safely.”
Agreed. However, 2012 and 2013 were essentially wasted years in terms of discussion. Only following what has been called black biosafety year 2014 did anything change.
