S16 Acquired immune responses to the seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination in COPD

Background Influenza A virus (IAV) is a major global public health burden, particularly in the elderly and those with underlying respiratory conditions such as COPD. Epidemiological data suggests that influenza vaccination protects against all-cause mortality in COPD patients. However recent work has called the efficacy of the vaccine in COPD into question, suggesting there is a defect in the ability of COPD patients to mount an adequate humoral response to influenza vaccination. Objectives The aim of our study was to investigate mechanisms driving the acquired immune responses to the seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination (TIV), in COPD subjects and healthy controls Methods 47 subjects were enrolled into the study; 23 COPD patients, 13 age-matched healthy control (HC –≥50) and 11 young healthy control subjects (YC –≤40). Serum and PBMC were isolated pre-TIV vaccination and at 7d, 28d and 6 months post vaccine for antibody titre, T cell and ELISpot analysis. Results The antibody titre to each of the three strains of virus was significantly increased 7 d post-vaccine (p Conclusions These results suggest that age is the primary determinant of response to trivalent vaccine and that there is no defect in COPD per se. The yearly trivalent vaccine should therefore be continued as an adjunct to COPD disease management.