A flu vaccine administered in the morning may be more effective than in the afternoon, according to a UK study.
Researchers found that vaccines against two strains of flu triggered a stronger antibody response in the morning than in the afternoon.
The difference was "significant," according to the University of Birmingham study.
Researchers studied the vaccination of 276 adult pensioners in 24 general practices in the West Midlands over a three-year period.
A third strain of vaccine seemed equally effective in the morning and afternoon.
Further studies will test the theory on other vaccines, such as the pneumococcal vaccine.
Researcher Professor Janet Lord said, "A significant amount of resource is used to try and prevent flu infection each year, particularly in older adults, but less than half make enough antibody to be fully protected.
"Our results suggest that by shifting the time of those vaccinations to the morning we can improve their efficiency with no extra cost to the health service."
Fellow researcher Dr Anna Phillips said: "We know that there are fluctuations in immune responses throughout the day and wanted to examine whether this would extend to the antibody response to vaccination.
"Being able to see that morning vaccinations yield a more efficient response will not only help in strategies for flu vaccination, but might provide clues to improve vaccination strategies more generally."
Vaccine 25 April 2016
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