Michael McIntyre's jokes tested to see if they stop elderly catching flu

How funny is he? Laughter may well prove to be the best medicine but scientists are studying whether comedian Michael McIntyre is hilarous enough to make elderly laugh away the flu.

Elderly exposed to comedy for 15 minutes

Researchers will put 650 people (aged 65 to 85-years-old) in front of the TV to watch 15 minutes of comedy at a GP surgery just before they get a flu jab.

Elderly patients will have their mood measured before and after watching the funny man to see if they are actually happier. They will have their blood tested before the jab and again four weeks later to see if those who were happier have higher antibody responses, to protect them from flu.

Professor Kavita Vedhara, professor of health psychology, who is leading research at Nottingham University, told homecare.co.uk: “Our hope is that our apotheosis is proved that being exposed to 15 minutes of positive material will increase the likelihood of the vaccine protecting you against the flu.”

The new trial follows research by the professor (published in the journal ‘Brain, Behavior, and Immunity’, last year) which looked at people’s physical activity, diet as well as positive mood and negative mood before flu injections.

The study found positive mood on the day of a flu jab had the biggest positive impact on their health with more antibodies actually produced in a patient’s blood post-vaccination.

One of the challenges facing researchers is working out how to best put people in a good mood and how do you measure happiness?

As part of a £315,000 clinical trial, to determine a person’s mood before and after a jab, the professor says “a variety of validated measures” will be used. This includes asking patients questions such as ‘How do you feel?’, showing patients an image of a face with a neutral expression and asking them to move the slider next to the face to smiling or sad to demonstrate how they feel.

But Mr McIntyre’s jokes will face some competition as they are not the only gags going under the microscope. Just in case, the comic fails to tickle the funny bone of elderly patients before they get their flu jab, the professor has a plan.

Professor wants Michael McIntyre to get in contact

One group will be given the flu jab without any comedy. Another group will watch 15 minutes of material including jokes by stand up by comedian Tim Vine as well as Mr McIntyre. Sitcom sketches from Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and The Two Ronnies will be shown and some music from Elvis’s ‘Jail House Rock’.

The third group will get the choice of which of these clips they actually want to watch. Professor Vedhara says: “We will be able to drill down and work out what material puts patients in a positive mood to cause the greatest amount of antibodies to be created.”

But the professor has bigger ambitions for the role of comics as a cure. "I hope comedians will get in touch with me. After the trial we would like to have an annual vaccination programme involving a comedian who can put together funny material for patients to watch. Mr McIntrye would be great!"

So should Mr McIntyre be worried?

But whether Mr McIntyre is up to the task, remains to be seen. The jury is still out on whether he is able to make patients in the trail laugh more than other comics.

Comic Tim Vine will also be watched by patients. He is considered by many to be king of the one-liners. He co-starred in the BBC One sitcom No Going Out from 2006 to 2014.

Here’s a few of his jokes: “I’d like to start with the chimney jokes – I’ve got a stack of them. The first one is on the house.” “I’ve decided to sell my Hoover – it was just collecting dust.”

Michael McIntyre’s popularity gave him a Saturday night TV slot with the hit series ‘Michael McIntyre's Big Show’ broadcast on BBC One. His gags include: "A good book is called a page turner. Surely that is the minimum you expect from any book."

Mr McIntyre’s official Twitter account on 4 February stated: “ Michael has fallen ill with the flu and unfortunately has to cancel tonight’s show at the Duchess Theatre. He is so sorry to let down the audience.”

Which leaves one pondering on whether the larger than life comic could do with a spoonful of his own medicine. The new trial will start before the Winter flu season, with flu vaccinations and a dose of comedy administered in GP surgeries around Nottingham this October and November.