“I don’t want a shot!”, is a repetitive theme coming from the tiny cuties in the exam rooms. Trust me Kid, I don’t want to give you a shot, but between me and your parent, there is no running out that door.
For both children and adults, there is never a good time for a vaccination; but, if you had to choose when to get your shot, mornings are best when it comes to fighting the flu virus. Recent information has shown that a flu vaccine given between 9am and 11am increased antibody response four times the level of patients who received vaccines between 3pm and 5pm.
For some reason, the immune system generates more protection when the flu shot is given in the morning. A study out of Birmingham, England (Dr. Anna Phillips) studied three different strains of the flu virus in 276 adults age 65 and older and compared morning vaccination to afternoon vaccination times. For the H1N1 (Swine flu) and B strain antibody responses, there was a significant effect of time of day. Not so much for the H3N2 viral flu strain. Men and Women were equally likely to show these variations in immune effects and these results could be applied to other immunizations such as hepatitis shots.
Our immune system may simply be more awake to mount responses to vaccines in the early hours. We know there are diurnal (timing) variations of other body chemicals such as the stress hormone, cortisol. These steroid levels are higher in the morning and lower in the evening.
In the U.S. millions of people are sickened by the flu annually. Several hundred thousands are hospitalized and tens of thousands will die from the flu every year. GET YOUR FLU SHOT ANNUALLY!
Do not expect much support for the kid-friendly nasal FluMist this 2016-2017 flu season. According to last year statistics, the FluMist had a poor performance record and did very little to protect our communities. As for myself and my kids, we prefer to get our shots early in the morning; that way, the anticipatory flu-shot jitters are less likely to linger.
Yolanda Rener says
Great! When is the best month to get our shots?
Jane Sadler says
Yolanda
Best months September and October. But I can tell you we have seen flu (rarely) even thru the summer!