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Scientists in the USA say they are getting [closely / closer] to developing a vaccine that will provide life-long [protection / protective] against any type of influenza. This could be welcome news for [million / millions] of people around the world who go to the doctor every year [to / for] get a flu jab. Two different research teams have been [tested / testing] new drugs on animals and both have had [promising / promised] results. Trials will soon begin on humans to [determine / determined] if the test vaccine has similar successes. Flu [expert / expertise] professor John Oxford told the BBC that: "This is a leap forward compared to anything done [recently / recent] . They have good animal data, not just in mice but in ferrets and monkeys too." He added that: "It's a very [good / goodly] stepping stone."

The flu virus kills [up / down] to half a million people every year. The problem with finding a vaccine is the [ever-changing / ever-charging] nature of the flu virus. It is in a constant [static / state] of mutation. Doctors have to predict which strains of the [viral / virus] are likely to cause the most infections and then create an updated [version / vision] of the vaccine accordingly. For this reason, the [successful / success] rate of most flu vaccines is very low because much of the process involves a lot of guesswork. Scientists say that vaccines in the U.S. reduced the [risky / risk] of catching flu [by / at] just 23 per cent last year. The website Inverse.com said the research could, "point to how we can [come / go] about making vaccines for other viruses that mutate rapidly, [like / likely] HIV or the common cold".