1976 swine flu vaccine may protect against H1N1 today

[trotsky]

Fascinating. Hadn't heard this, even though it's almost 2 months old.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=single-vaccine-dose-even

One of the NEJM studies also showed that many older Americans as well as recipients of the 1976 swine flu vaccine may already be protected against the new virus. In that study, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that tests of serum taken from 1976 swine flu vaccine recipients showed a strong protective immune response against today's pandemic virus. The findings may help to explain why the virus sickens children and young adults more than older people, the authors wrote. The preexisting immunity may also prime 1976 vaccinees to respond vigorously to the new pandemic vaccine.

...

The CDC group also started over the summer to test 83 samples of serum drawn in 1976 from adults who received a single dose of the swine flu vaccine as well as a handful of samples from children who got the 1976 vaccine. The study found that the serum from 52 (63 percent) of the adult subjects produced antibody levels of 160 or more when exposed to the novel H1N1 virus. That number was nearly as many (59) of those whose serum demonstrated a strong response when exposed to the 1976 swine flu itself.

[MineralMan]

1. That's good news. I had that vaccine in 76.

[Bozita]

2. Same here, and I got the seasonal flu vax and pneumonia vax on Friday. I'm set.

Great news about the '76 carryover.

[MineralMan]

4. I got the seasonal flu shot in early September. I'll still get the H1N1

shot, though, but I won't worry so much about how late it will arrive. Wouldn't that be funny if that 1976 shot, which everyone was so bent out of shape about was the thing that protects us now?

[endless october]

3. i think i had the shot that year.

however, i'm getting this one anyway.