Tired of praying to the porcelain gods?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
The stomach flu – or norovirus – BLOWS. And to make matters worse, it’s super contagious!
But wait!
Becca A. Flitter and team from Vaxart tested a brand new norovirus vaccine. And it’s not a shot, but a pill you can swallow!
Over a hundred and fifty adults were either given the vaccine or a placebo. Then, they were infected with stomach flu! Ew!
But the pill had no big side effects! Instead, it revved up the immune system, cut infections, and slowed down transmission.
This little pill could be a big step in stopping the stomach bug – no needles needed!
Now that’s easy to swallow!
Reference: Flitter, B. A., Gillard, J., Greco, S. N., Apkarian, M. D., D’Amato, N. P., Nguyen, L. Q., Neuhaus, E. D., Hailey, C. M., Pasetti, M. F., Shriver, M., Quigley, C., Frenck, R. W., Lindesmith, L. C., Baric, R. S., Wei, L.-J., Tucker, S. N., & Cummings, J. F. (2025). An oral norovirus vaccine generates mucosal immunity and reduces viral shedding in a phase 2 placebo-controlled challenge study. Science Translational Medicine, 17(798). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adh9906