WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Seniors enroll in flu vaccine trial at Vanderbilt

Seniors enroll in flu vaccine trial at Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A seasonal flu vaccine for seniors is being tested in Nashville.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering free shots to those 65 and older as part of a clinical trial to study the efficiency of the seasonal flu vaccine.

Participants will receive higher doses to see if it better protections them.

Nearly 10,000 seniors nationwide will be enrolled in the study, with 96 coming from Vanderbilt.

Mt. Juliet resident Bob Oxford rolled up his sleeve Monday for an extra dose of protection.

"The swine flu is getting a lot of people, the regular flu is getting a lot of people and all the research they can do will help everybody," said the 68-year-old Oxford, who said he always gets the yearly flu shot.

Anyone 65 and older can get the shot, which can be four times stronger than the regular vaccine.

"The influenza vaccine works great in adults over 65, but not quite as well as we would like so this is a study looking at a much higher dose to see if we can get better protection," Dr. Keipp Talbot explained.

According to doctors, the regular seasonal vaccine can have rates as high as 30% as not preventing the flu and senior citizens have a harder time fighting it off than younger people.

"For some reason, as we age, we don't fight flu as well and that's the same for the influenza vaccine.  We don't respond as well as we do when we're 18," Dr. Talbot continued.

The vaccine is free and participants are compensated for time and travel.

Vanderbilt staff will track Oxford, and the other patients, throughout the year to see if they get the flu.

Those interested in participating in any clinical trial at Vanderbilt University Medical Center can visit their Web site or call 615-343-8010.