H1N1 immunity for older people

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   I just watched our 6:00 news here in Denver on Channel 4.  They said that if you were born before 1957 that you were immune from H1N1.

This NY Times article says that older people appear to be safer from H1N1.  (According to Dr. Daniel Jernigan from the CDC.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/health/21swineflu.html?_r=0

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Elver Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: June 14 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7778	Post Options Post Reply Quote Elver Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: H1N1 immunity for older people Posted: January 06 2014 at 5:28pm
	I just watched our 6:00 news here in Denver on Channel 4. They said that if you were born before 1957 that you were immune from H1N1. This NY Times article says that older people appear to be safer from H1N1. (According to Dr. Daniel Jernigan from the CDC.) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/health/21swineflu.html?_r=0

jacksdad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251	Post Options Post Reply Quote jacksdad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 07 2014 at 6:39am
	I suppose that would make sense. Prior to the current situation where we have multiple influenza A strains in play at any given time, we only used to have one dominant flu virus circulating because they apparently didn't play well with others back in the good old days - H1N1 eradicated the previous strain when it first appeared in 1918, and it was top dog until H2N2 Asian flu toppled it in 1957. To all intents and purposes H1N1 disappeared until it's resurgence in 2009, so naturally acquired immunity from exposure to the virus wouldn't have been possible and I'm sure they weren't vaccinating against a virus that didn't seem to exist anymore.
	"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Albert Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Albert Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 07 2014 at 7:14am
	Well considering so many people died over the age of 65 during the 2009 pandemic, and considering they still are, I wouldn't bank on that one. h1n1 like all flu strains changes each year, and if that was the case, people would be immune to h3n2 and h1n1, etc... They may be a little off on this speculation.

arirish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215	Post Options Post Reply Quote arirish Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 07 2014 at 7:31am
	I think "immune" is the problem. It should say "some immunity". SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY Many Elderly Americans May Have Immunity to H1N1 Federal health officials reported last week that one-third of Americans over age 60 already have antibodies to the H1N1 flu virus, which might provide at least partial protection from infection. Reports also indicate that obesity at any age may contribute to the severity of flu complications. http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/many-elderly-americans-may-have-immunity-to-h1n1
	Buy more ammo!

jacksdad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251	Post Options Post Reply Quote jacksdad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 07 2014 at 8:08am
	Immunity across the board seems to be a problem with H1N1. Herd immunity from exposure to the virus since 2009 doesn't seem to be helping much, and I know from personal experience that the flu shot has it's limitations. It must be mutating pretty fast and far to still be causing problems so soon after emerging as a pandemic strain.
	"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Elver Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: June 14 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7778	Post Options Post Reply Quote Elver Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 07 2014 at 8:46pm
	So this all brings me back to my belief that it is better to get the flu and recover from it when you are younger than get flu shots every single year. It would seem that when you get into your 80's your natural immunity would be a greater asset than relying on scientists to make a good match with the flu shot which isn't 100% effective anyway. I'm sure someone in their 80's is susceptible to anything, but I'd much rather have some naturally built in immunity from being sick off and on during my life. It was about 10 years ago that Readers Digest had an article which said that people who got sick regularly throughout their lives with colds and flu had better immunity against cancer than people who never got sick. Has anyone heard of this?