Morning administration of vaccines can make them more effective

If flu vaccinations are administered in the morning, they turn out to be more effective.

The findings from the study conducted by the University of Birmingham suggest that administering vaccinations in the morning, rather than the afternoon, could induce greater and thus more protective antibody responses.

24 general practices in the West Midlands, UK, were analysed between 2011 and 2013 in a cluster-randomised trial during the annual UK influenza vaccination programme.

276 adults aged over 65 were vaccinated against three strains of influenza, either in morning surgeries (9-11am) or afternoon surgeries (3-5pm).

Dr Anna Phillips said that they know that there are fluctuations in immune responses throughout the day and wanted to examine whether this would extend to the antibody response to vaccination. Being able to see that morning vaccinations yield a more efficient response will not only help in strategies for flu vaccination, but might provide clues to improve vaccination strategies more generally.

Co-investigator Janet Lord said that a significant amount of resource is used to try and prevent flu infection each year, particularly in older adults, but less than half make enough antibody to be fully protected.

Lord added that their results suggest that by shifting the time of those vaccinations to the morning one can improve their efficiency with no extra cost to the health service.

The study appears in the journal Vaccine.