Flu jabs don't protect against pneumonia
8 August 2008
For older people, the flu vaccine may not be as effective as we thought 
Dr Michael Jackson, Lead Researcher, Group Health Center for Health Studies, Seattle
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Flu vaccines are not effective at protecting older people against pneumonia, US research suggests.
The study, published in The Lancet, involved over 3,500 people aged between 65 and 94. The researchers compared the incidence of pneumonia in people who had been given a flu vaccine with those who hadn't, over a three-year period.
They found that older people who had been vaccinated were just as likely to develop pneumonia as those who hadn't.
"We found that prior studies had been over-estimating the vaccine's effects on pneumonia," lead researcher Dr Michael Jackson, from the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, told the Bupa health information team. He believes this study gives us more accurate information on how effective the flu vaccine is.
"Our study allowed us to identify the older, sicker and frailer people and account for them in the analysis. That's why we were able to better estimate the benefits of the vaccine than prior studies," he explained.
Pneumonia is a common complication of flu in elderly people and it can be fatal. In the UK, flu vaccinations are recommended for all people who are likely to develop a severe complication such as pneumonia. This includes everyone aged 65 and over, as well as people who are particularly at risk due to other conditions they have.
However, this research suggests that flu vaccinations aren't as beneficial for older people as previously thought.
Despite the results of this study, Dr Jackson recommends that older people should continue to get regular flu vaccinations.
Dr Keith Prowse, Chairman of the British Lung Foundation, which helps raise awareness and funds for people with lung diseases, agrees. "[This research] should not deter people from getting the flu vaccine," he commented. "Influenza is an unpleasant illness in itself and the vaccine is particularly important for elderly people with other chronic diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have a weakened immune system and are susceptible to developing pneumonia. Further research looking at whether the vaccine reduces the risk of pneumonia in vulnerable groups would be extremely useful."
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