How well does the flu vaccine work for older people?

Publication Date:25/09/2007

The flu season is fast approaching, and older people in particular are at risk of serious health problems if they get flu. We look at the latest research on how well the flu vaccine works for older people. And if you're wondering whether you need a flu jab, we look at who doctors say should be vaccinated.

What do we know already?

For most people, flu is an unpleasant disease that doesn't cause long-term problems. But if you're older or have other health problems, it can make you very ill. Thousands of people, many of them elderly, die each year from complications caused by flu. Because of this, lots of countries, including the UK, recommend that older people have a flu vaccine every year.

There's good research to show that the flu vaccine works well to protect healthy adults. But the vaccine doesn't work as well in older people. That's because our immune system works less well as we get older. It doesn't get the same benefit from vaccines. One study found that a flu jab protects half of people over 60, but just under a quarter of people over 70.

Previous studies seemed to show that having a flu jab meant older people were much less likely to die of flu, compared to older people who hadn't had the vaccine.

What does the new study say?

Now, researchers have looked again at these early studies. They have found some big problems with the way the studies were carried out. Researchers think that the earlier studies overestimated how well the flu vaccine works.

So, we don't really know how many older people avoid dying of flu as a result of having the vaccine. The researchers say more and better studies are needed. But they say that people should carry on having the flu vaccine in the meantime.

The researchers hope that future studies will lead to flu vaccines that provide better protection for older people.

Where does the study come from?

The researchers are from George Washington University in Washington, US, and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, US. The new study is published in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

What does this mean for me?

Although the new study says we don't know how well the flu vaccine works for older people, the researchers say older people should carry on having the jab as normal. They say a vaccine that only gives some protection is better than not being vaccinated at all. And the vaccine does not have any serious side effects.

These are the groups of people who doctors say should have a flu jab every year:

People aged 65 or over
People living in a long-term residential care home
People with a serious heart problem, such as heart failure
People with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
People with a long-term kidney or liver disease
People with diabetes
People having cancer treatment
People with a weak immune system. This could happen as a result of an illness, such as HIV.

What should I do now?

If you are in one of the high-risk groups above, ask your GP surgery about having a vaccine for flu. Most GP surgeries will be running flu vaccine clinics in the next two months.

For more information about the vaccine, see our articles about flu.

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This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.