Obesity reduces flu vaccine effectiveness, study finds

Research on mouse models shows potential need to modify influenza vaccinations in humans who are overweight. A new study shows that flu vaccines do not protect obese mice in the same way that they shield lean mice from infection, raising concerns about vaccine effectiveness in obese humans who are known to be at an increased risk for severe flu. The results of the study — led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and including Dr. Tomer Hertz, a researcher from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – suggests a potential need to modify influenza vaccinations in humans. “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,” said author Stacey Schultz-Cherry, a member of the St. Jude Department of Infectious Diseases. The present strategies include increasing the vaccine dose and adding substances called...