Elderly Singaporeans may be better protected against the flu and respiratory illness if they get an influenza or flu jab twice a year, instead of once, a local study has found.

Researchers found that with a second vaccination after six months, the proportion of participants with antibody levels high enough to protect against the three influenza strains in the vaccine increased from 56.8 per cent to 80.4 per cent.

The May 2016 to November 2017 study by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital won gold in the Singapore Young Investigator Award (Clinical Research) category at the Singapore Health and Biomedical Congress yesterday.

The award was part of the Congress’ Scientific Competition, which recognises research studies that have improved patient care and overall population health.

Dr Barnaby Young, the lead researcher and a consultant of infectious diseases at NCID, said that the findings could help to determine how often someone living in Singapore should get a flu jab.

In Singapore’s tropical climate, influenza causes infections yearround with outbreak timings that are difficult to predict, whereas in temperate climates, they occur only during winter, he added.

The study involved 200 participants aged 65 and up.

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