Flu vaccine jab given only in the morning could save thousands more lives

London: The flu vaccine is four times more effective if given in the morning, scientists have discovered, a finding which could help prevent the deaths of thousands of people each year.

Influenza can be a deadly infection for vulnerable people such as pensioners and last winter around 16,000 people died from the virus, after the flu strain mutated unexpectedly. But now scientists at the University of Birmingham have found a simple way of increasing the efficacy of the annual jab.

Giving patients a vaccination between the hours of 9am and 11am boosted antibodies to four times the levels of those patients who had shots between 3pm and 5pm. It is thought that the immune system is more active and responsive in the morning. Dr Anna Phillips, the principal investigator of the study from the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham said: “We know that there are fluctuations in immune responses throughout the day and wanted to examine whether this would extend to the antibody response to vaccination. “Being able to see that morning vaccinations yield a more efficient response will not only help in strategies for flu vaccination, but might provide clues to improve vaccination strategies.”

Researchers conducted a trial of 276 pensioners at 24 general practices in the West Midlands. They were then invited to return a month later when a blood sample was taken to see how many antibodies had formed. Over 65s are particularly vulnerable to influenza because their immune systems are weaker and so they often do not produce enough antibodies to fight the virus, even after a flu jab. But those who had been vaccinated in the morning had far more antibodies. Previous interventions to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine, such as encouraging exercise or adding supplements, were unsuccessful. Prof Janet Lord, a co-investigator on the study from the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham, said, “A significant amount of resource is used to try and prevent flu infection each year, particularly in older adults, but less than half make enough antibody to be fully protected. Our results suggest that by shifting the time of those vaccinations to the morning we can improve their efficiency with no extra cost to the health service.”

The team is planning a larger study to replicate the findings and check that morning time vaccination does not raise the risk of other conditions. They also plan to test the theory on pneumonia vaccines, which are also offered to all over 65s in the winter. Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at Nottingham University, said: “We know that a variety of factors, such as diet, sleep and exercise, seem to impact on your immunity, but the fact that the amount of antibody produced differed according to whether or not people were immunised in the morning or in the afternoon was intriguing.”

The Telegraph Group Ltd., London