While the study group is rather small, it involves highly advanced scientific evaluation of the immune system. The researchers collected blood from 27 healthy, unvaccinated children with an average age of 6 years old, and 14 children with cystic fibrosis who received an annual flu shot. The unvaccinated children were found to have a superior immune response, giving them broader protection against what they might face in an actual flu season, including pandemic strains.
The researchers found that the CD4 T helper cell response to the flu influenza A was present in both the unvaccinated and vaccinated children. On the one hand this means that in healthy children a vaccine was not needed to elicit a T helper cell response to the flu. Such helper cells coordinate the higher-powered adaptive immune response so that antibodies can destroy the virus. On the other hand it means that the T helper cell response in children with respiratory disease was comparable to the healthy children, potentially offering them some protection against whatever viral strains happened to be in the flu vaccine.
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