Singapore: A higher dose of flu shot may protect the elderly from Malaise, indicated a recent study. The research conducted by Sanofi Pasteur US, on nearly 32,000 elderly men and women, demonstrated a 24 percent decrease in influenza illness among the older population of the society who participated in the clinical trials for the high dose flu vaccine.

Dr David Greenberg, vice president and chief medical officer for Sanofi Pasteur said that the older population received higher protection compared to the standard flu dose. He said, "People above 65 years of age are more prone to flu and 90 percent of deaths are flu related. The high dose vaccine is designed to address the weak immune system of the elderly that do not generally respond well to the standard flu shots."

Dr Greenberg explained that Fluzone High-Dose vaccine is an inactivated influenza vaccine containing four times the vaccine found in the standard dose. He added that people given the high-dose shot produced more antibodies against the flu than those given the standard dose.

Dr Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City said that he recommended the high dose vaccine for his patients as the vaccine increased protection against flu by 20 percent.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the high dose vaccine is approved for 65 years and older people, but is not recommended for people who have had a severe reaction to the flu vaccine in the past.