Your Weight Could Make The Flu Shot Less Effective, WHO Reveals
New research led by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has uncovered that obese mice are not protected against influenza infections by vaccines that include adjuvants—raising concerns about vaccine effectiveness in obese humans who are known to be at an increased risk for severe flu infections. These recent findings come amid ongoing concerns about flu pandemics launched by avian flu viruses and the global rise of obesity.
"This is the first study to show that current strategies to bolster the effectiveness of flu vaccines protected lean mice from serious illness but fell short of protecting obese mice from infections," explained senior study author Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Infectious Diseases and deputy director at the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds.
"This is the first study to show that current strategies to bolster the effectiveness of flu vaccines protected lean mice from serious illness but fell short of protecting obese mice from infections," explained senior study author Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Infectious Diseases and deputy director at the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds.