How To Improve Your Chances Of A Vaccine Working For You

It’s time to start taking your health seriously.  Being overweight or obese isn’t just about looks…or preventing heart disease and diabetes…

It’s now about your survival—and preventing this supervirus from destroying your health and leading to future health complications.

Last week, it was reported that overweight or obese individuals are more at risk for complications from this virus than thinner people.

But not for the reasons you’re thinking…

The Development of Vaccines

Since January, cases of the virus started to increase—at a rapid pace.  And this has sent states into lockdown—and entire countries being barred from visiting the US.

Recently, the amount of cases has topped over 5 million—and over 170,000 deaths in the US itself.  Not only has this lead to massive quarantines, it has also led to many countries working together to develop a vaccine, to return states and countries back to normal.

But:

Last week it was reported that vaccines may not work in a certain population of people—overweight or obese individuals.

And this is the population that needs it the most.  With 1 in every 3 people in the US being obese—or over 46% of the US population—this is causing a lot of worry and concern among researchers and vaccine makers.

But it’s not just this new developing vaccine that may be ineffective…

Studies have shown that other vaccines may fail—or not be effective in obese individuals.

And this includes the flu vaccine.

In 1985, a large scale study was conducted on hospital employees in North Carolina.  Thousands of staff were vaccinated against the Hepatitis B virus—and then studied to see how their immune systems responded to the vaccine.

It showed that the vaccine was twice as likely to fail in those who were obese compared to those with a lower weight.

But it gets worse from there…

In 2017, researchers again from North Carolina showed that the flu vaccine was twice as likely to fail in obese individuals, than non-obese adults.

So how does this relate to the new vaccine?

With a large percentage of our population being obese—and obesity being a major risk factor for not only contracting the virus, but for increasing death rates, it’s adding a new challenge to vaccine makers.

The Reason Why Obese Individuals Are More At Risk

Vaccine makers have their work cut out for them.  As they struggle to develop a vaccine for everyone—they now have to take into consideration that it may not work for a majority of the population.

So why won’t a potential vaccine--one that could save thousands of lives--not work for obese people?

There are a few theories as to why it’s ineffective.  The theories include:

1. The Needle is Too Short

For most vaccines, a 1-inch needle is often used to deliver the medication through the skin and into the body.  However, some researchers believe the needle is not long enough to penetrate the thick layer of fat covering the body, so they can deliver the vaccine into the shoulder muscle.

2. Not Enough of a Dose

Another popular theory is that the dosage given to obese individuals is not enough to give them the protection they need.   Vaccinations usually rely on body mass index to determine how much vaccine a person needs.

Obese patients often have higher body mass indexes, which means they need more of the vaccine to do the job.  However, most doses come in a small amount, therefore not delivering the amount an overweight person really needs.

One solution to this may be to give a booster shot—to ensure this demographic is getting the necessary amount of the vaccine to add protection.

3. Low-Level Inflammation

If you have extra weight—or you’re obese—you may have higher chronic inflammation levels.  And this low-level inflammation could prevent your immune system from functioning correctly.

According to Dr. Leonard Friedland, the vice president and director of Scientific Affairs and Public Health for GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, states: “Obesity triggers a chronic inflammatory state in humans.”  He further states that this is a major issue, and a big hurdle to overcome.

So how will you know if it works?

According to sources, vaccine makers will conduct clinical trials on all demographics—obese people included—to see how effective the new vaccine, and technology, is at preventing the contraction of this supervirus.

The bottom line:

Researchers want to be sure this vaccine works for all demographics.  The goal is to prevent the spread…and you can only do so if the vaccine works for everyone.

Take Home Message

It’s safe to say that viruses—including this supervirus—are going to be here for a long time.  In fact, they will probably be around long after you’ve passed on.

But that doesn’t mean you should be left susceptible to contracting a virus that could make you sick.  This is why vaccines are being produced—at a record pace—to give everyone the best shot at avoiding this nasty bug.

However, it’s now being reported that vaccines may be less likely to work if you’re obese.  And it’s not just the vaccine for this novel virus…

Studies show that vaccines--like the flu and hepatitis B shots—may be twice as likely to fail in obese patients compared to thinner patients.

So what should you do?

You should start making healthier changes to your diet and exercise program to help you lose weight—if you’re obese or even if you’re overweight.  Not only could this improve your health, it could also foster a stronger immune system.

And this could give you the ability to fight viruses, bacteria, and fungi that could make you sick.

But you don’t have to make drastic, unrealistic changes.  Start by making one small change each week—and build on that change.  The more changes you can make over time, the easier it will be to adopt a healthier lifestyle, drop the extra pounds, and give your immune system the chance it needs to get stronger.

Although a vaccine is months away from being introduced to a limited amount of people, you can take the right steps now to protect your health and support your immune system.

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References:

1. Weber DJ, Rutala WA, Samsa GP.  Obesity as a Predictor of Poor Antibody Response to Hepatitis B Plasma Vaccine.  JAMA.  1985;254(22):3187-3189.

2. Neidich SD, Green WD, Rebeles J, Karlsson EA, Schultz-Cherry S, Noah TL, Chakladar S, Hudgens MG, Weir SS, Beck MA.  Increased risk of influenza among vaccinated adults who are obese.  Int J Obes (Lond). 2017 Sep;41(9):1324-1330.

3. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/covid-19-vaccine-may-be-less-effective-in-obese-people-experts-warn/ar-BB17TeDe?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPDHP