Even in a constant state of jetlag, Yoshihiro Kawaoka is a fiercely productive flu researcher. Wonder what he could accomplish with a little bit of sleep?
If Yoshihiro Kawaoka owned a country, its citizens would be well protected from a bird flu pandemic.Confronted with a pandemic, Kawaoka says he would close his country’s borders and release a vaccine based on the live, but weakened, bird flu virus. Some people might fall ill from the vaccine strain, but far greater numbers would benefit. “The immune response provided by live virus, that is going to be the one that really protects humans,” Kawaoka says.