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As the U.S. prepares for the start of the flu season, experts are turning to Australia, whose earlier winter could provide insight into the strength of the annual virus in the U.S. The outlook is not good — data suggests that this year's vaccine may be much less effective than previously thought.

Every year, it seems like we’re weighing the threats of a new strain of flu, and continually struggling to produce an effective vaccine. Is this the most effective way to battle influenza? And what happens if we're faced with a deadly strain, the likes of which killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people in 1918 and 1919?

Dr. Tom Frieden is president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. He was also director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2017. Dr. Frieden joins the program to talk about this year's flu, and what action we might take in order to more effectively protect ourselves from a global pandemic.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich