The role of bacterial vaccines in the prevention of influenza mortality

The 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic has arrived without a human proof-of-concept universal influenza vaccine to prevent the next pandemic. World Pneumonia Day, on Nov 12, is a good time to reflect on our improved understanding of the role of bacterial coinfections in deaths from seasonal and pandemic influenza virus, and the potential of bacterial vaccines, particularly pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and possibly future vaccines against Staphylococcus aureus, to mitigate pandemic influenza mortality.