Prinsen, Hetty, de Vries, I Jolanda M, Torensma, Ruurd et al. · BMC immunology · 2012 · DOI
This study tested how well people with ME/CFS respond to the flu vaccine compared to healthy people. Researchers measured both antibody production (humoral immunity) and T cell activity (cellular immunity) before and after vaccination. The results showed that people with ME/CFS had immune responses to the flu vaccine that were similar to healthy controls, suggesting their immune systems can respond normally to this vaccine.
This study addresses an important practical question for ME/CFS patients: whether vaccination is safe and effective given proposed immune dysfunction. The finding that immune responses to influenza vaccination are comparable to healthy controls provides evidence-based reassurance that standard seasonal flu vaccination can be recommended for this population.
This study does not establish whether ME/CFS involves immune dysfunction in general, only that responses to influenza vaccination specifically appear normal. It also does not address whether vaccination might trigger symptom exacerbation (post-exertional malaise) in some patients, nor does it explain the underlying cause of ME/CFS fatigue.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Prinsen, Hetty, de Vries, I Jolanda M, Torensma, Ruurd, Pots, Jeanette M, Mulder, Sasja F, van Herpen, Carla M L, et al. (2012). Humoral and cellular immune responses after influenza vaccination in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. BMC immunology. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2172-13-71
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-prinsen-2012-humoral-cellular,
author = {Prinsen, Hetty and de Vries, I Jolanda M and Torensma, Ruurd and Pots, Jeanette M and Mulder, Sasja F and van Herpen, Carla M L and Elving, Lammy D and Bleijenberg, Gijs and Stelma, Foekje F and van Laarhoven, Hanneke W M},
title = {Humoral and cellular immune responses after influenza vaccination in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {BMC immunology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1186/1471-2172-13-71},
note = {PubMed: 23244635},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/prinsen-2012-humoral-cellular},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/prinsen-2012-humoral-cellular
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.