--- title: Why Don’t We Have a Cure for the Common Cold? description: Even though the common cold is the primary reason American adults miss work and kids miss school, there's still no cure. Here's why canonical: https://time.com/3935266/why-dont-we-have-a-cure-for-the-common-cold/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-25T11:23:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T08:31:23.639Z article:section: Health og:title: Why Don’t We Have a Cure for the Common Cold? og:description: Even though the common cold is the primary reason American adults miss work and kids miss school, there's still no cure. Here's why og:url: https://time.com/3935266/why-dont-we-have-a-cure-for-the-common-cold/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Don’t We Have a Cure for the Common Cold? twitter:description: Even though the common cold is the primary reason American adults miss work and kids miss school, there's still no cure. Here's why twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Why Don't We Have a Cure for the Common Cold? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 25, 2015 11:23 AM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 25, 2015 11:23 AM UTC 1 TOO MANY VIRUSES What we know to be the common cold is actually hundreds of strains of viruses, many falling within the large family called a rhinovirus. In a typical year, there are three to four flu strains to look out for, but there can be 20 to 30 strains of rhinoviruses circulating. $40 BILLION AMOUNT THE COLD COSTS THE U.S. ECONOMY, WHICH IS MORE THAN THE COST OF HEART FAILURE 2 HARD TO VACCINATE AND TREAT We’re usually protected from viruses through vaccination, but it’s nearly impossible to develop an annual vaccine for cold-causing viruses because there are too many and they change often. Rhinoviruses fall under three categories: A, B and C. While there is research in drug development for types A and B, research for C viruses is further behind. 3 LACK OF INCENTIVE Compared with those of other infectious diseases, the symptoms of the common cold are rather benign, and a cold is rarely fatal. 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