Vanderbilt Working On More Efficient Flu Vaccine - Flint Adam

Plenty of Middle Tennesseans have already gotten their seasonal flu-shot, but even with the vaccination, there's a chance some may still come down with influenza.

Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center say the shot isn't always as effective in people over 65.

A new clinical trial is hoping to boost those odds.

VUMC doctor Keipp Talbot says, "The flu vaccine was actually made in the 1940's for army recruits, and designed for 18 to 25 year old men. And it worked pretty well in adults over 65, but not quite as well as we would like - so, we're looking to do something a little bit better."

VUMC, along with 100 other sites across the country, is now involved in a clinical trial that hopes to find a more effective vaccine for people 65 and older.

10,000 people, nationally, will be enrolled in the trial.

96 of them are coming from Vanderbilt Medical Center.

"This is a higher dose influenza vaccine that's being tested to see how well it works in adults over 65 years of age," says Talbot.

The problem has been that older folks have weaker immune systems, and they don't respond to traditional flu-vaccine as well as the young.

So, participants, like 66 year-old Julie Jones, are being given a dose that's four-times greater than the regular vaccine.

Jones has been lucky: she gets vaccinated each year, and so far, hasn't come down with the flu.

But she's hoping her participation in the trial will help ensure that other seniors don't, either.

"I'm really sort of thrilled to be able to take part. It's just an interesting thing and useful to be able to help people in the future. Old people like me," says Jones.

Enrollment for this flu-season's trial ends Saturday, but if you miss out, don't worry: the trial runs again the next two years.Vanderbilt Working On More Efficient Flu Vaccine - Flint Adam

Posted: Monday, November 2 2009, 06:51 PM CST