Using Systems Immunology to Characterise Variability in Anti-Viral and Vaccine-Induced Immune Responses in Older Nursing Home Residents

Not all older adults are at equal risk of immune-mediated disease. Why are some older people much healthier than others of the same age and social class?

We now know that older people living with frailty (decreased reserve to stressors) - such as nursing home residents - are most at risk from viral infections.

There is a significant variation between individuals in how older people respond to viral infections and indeed anti-viral vaccine efficacy is strikingly variable in older adults.

The reasons for this are poorly understood, but variability in our immune responsiveness is likely to have an important role.

By taking blood samples from nursing home residents before they are exposed to a vaccine and examining their immune responses to viruses in the lab, and by following repeating blood tests 6 weeks/6 months after vaccination, I aim to determine some of the characteristics within the immune system that explain this variability.

This may help determine the key parts of the immune system responsible for such wide variation in this vulnerable group and may seek to inform vaccine development and deployment as well as identifying individuals who are at risk of severe illness from viral infections in the future