Similarities between 1918 and 2009 H1N1 Flu gave older people some immunity

Pandemic btw does not mean: "WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!" It means that people will get the disease all over the world in a relatively short time period.

Discoveries from this pandemic may help develop vaccines in the future with "cross-over" protection. That might also eliminate any need to use any form of mercury as a preservative.

clipped from www.cidrap.umn.edu Study shows 1918 and 2009 pandemic viruses share key feature The researchers said the unexpected similarity would have allowed the immune systems of those exposed to the 20th century virus to mount a defense against the 21st century one. "Our findings provide strong evidence that exposure to earlier viruses has helped to provide some people with immunity to the recent influenza pandemic," Wilson, who is Scripps Research Professor, said in a statement. The researchers suggested that manipulating newly emerged viruses in such a manner could allow for the development of vaccines against future pandemic strains. If such vaccines were deployed, they said, the antibody protection produced could prevent a novel pandemic strain from becoming entrenched enough to evolve into a persistent seasonal flu.