Currently, there is no greater threat to global health, security, and the economy than the emergence of a highly transmissible influenza virus that could spark the next global pandemic. Yet we have become complacent to the threat of influenza. The annual event referred to by the media as "the cold and flu season" has created the notion that influenza is unavoidable. New treatments and improved diagnostics will enhance our management of influenza. Above all, we need a better vaccine to prevent the annual toll--and a vaccine that will be available before the next pandemic strikes. Philanthropists, governments, and the private sector have joined forces to invest in breakthrough science and catalyze a global response to the inevitable next flu pandemic. But are we organized to take full advantage of today's science and technology to find an effective universal influenza vaccine?