Despite recent headlines claiming that flu jabs are failing to save the elderly, if you are wise, you will still have your vaccination.
A recently published paper from the Health Protection Agency suggested that flu vaccinations for the elderly had no effect on the number of hospital admissions due to respiratory conditions such as bronchitis, emphysema and pneumonia, the telegraph reports.
Yet the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the vaccinations reduce the risk of serious complications and/or death by up to 85 per cent.
The problem lies in the science of developing flu vaccines. The seasonal jabs protect against strains of the virus judged by the WHO to be the most likely strains to be in circulation that winter. However, this prediction is often made an entire year before, so if a strain changes, or a new one appears, the vaccine will not protect against them.
Another problem with the vaccine is that older people’s immune systems are less responsive than those in younger people, so the vaccine works in them less well. This is due to a phenomenon called immunosenescence, where the body’s immune system weakens with age.
But some people do respond to the vaccines very well. A spokesman for the Department of Health told the Telegraph: “Although vaccination may not protect all elderly people, experts advise that the majority of them benefit by at least having a less severe illness.”
The Health Protection Agency researchers are in fact insisting that ministers should not abandon vaccination, yet they are urging them to consider public health measures such as improved housing, smoking clinics and research into other illnesses associated with winter colds and flu.
More research is also being done into vaccines that protect, even if a flu strain has changed a little. Meanwhile, if you’re aged over 65, or in one of the groups most at risk from flu, a flu jab could still save your life this winter.
It is important to note that acute conditions such as Bronchitis and Pneumonia are covered by private medical insurance, subject to whether these are pre-existing conditions, and that you can claim on your health insurance policy for treatment in a private hospital, in your own room.