Friedberg @ 00:10:20Wrong
healthscience
Within the coming years, routine prevention of infectious disease will shift from traditional vaccines to annual polyclonal antibody ‘cocktails’ that provide antibodies against newly emerging pathogens, functionally replacing the current model of yearly flu shots.
I do think that, by the way, I do and I've written about this, I think that is the future of infectious disease is we're all going to get a polyclonal cocktail every year instead of getting a flu shot. You get a bunch of antibodies to all the new stuff that's emerging and it wipes everything out.View on YouTube
Explanation
Why this prediction is wrong (as of Nov 29, 2025)
Friedberg predicted that within the coming years, routine prevention of infectious disease would move away from traditional vaccines to annual polyclonal antibody ‘cocktails’ that would effectively replace the current model of yearly flu shots.
Key checks:
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Standard of care for flu prevention
- In the U.S. and globally, the primary routine prevention for seasonal influenza in healthy populations remains annual vaccination, not antibody infusions or injections.
- CDC guidance for the 2024–2025 season continues to recommend yearly influenza vaccination for almost everyone 6 months and older; there is no recommendation for routine antibody prophylaxis for the general population.
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Antibody-based prophylaxis today
- Monoclonal antibodies are used preventively in niche or high‑risk contexts:
- RSV: Nirsevimab (Beyfortus) is recommended as a single-dose monoclonal antibody to prevent severe RSV in infants and some high‑risk young children, but this is a targeted product for a specific group, not a general annual cocktail for the whole population.
- COVID‑19: Products like Evusheld (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) were used for pre‑exposure prophylaxis in certain immunocompromised patients, but authorizations were withdrawn or revised as variants reduced effectiveness, and they were never deployed as a universal annual replacement for vaccination.
- These are monoclonal or sometimes combination antibody products targeting specific pathogens, not broad "polyclonal cocktails" that replace flu shots for mass routine prevention.
- Monoclonal antibodies are used preventively in niche or high‑risk contexts:
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No broad shift in prevention model
- Routine public‑health practice and guidelines in 2025 still center on vaccination for influenza, COVID‑19, and most other vaccine‑preventable diseases.
- Antibody cocktails remain adjuncts or special‑population tools, not the new standard annual prophylaxis for the general population.
Conclusion
By late 2025, routine prevention of infectious disease has not shifted from vaccines to annual polyclonal antibody cocktails, nor have such cocktails functionally replaced yearly flu shots. The prediction is therefore wrong.