Anti-vaxxers have “artfully manipulated” a study on influenza immunisation and non-pandemic coronaviruses in a bid to dissuade people from having flu shots, a leading Australian researcher says.

The study looked at 6000 members of the US defense forces and found that, overall, influenza vaccination was associated with a non-significant reduction in the risk of catching other respiratory viruses.

However, while vaccinated patients had lower odds of being diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus or parainfluenza, they had higher odds of being diagnosed with endemic coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1, according to the findings published in Vaccine in October last year.

Despite the niche topic, the study by epidemiologist Greg Wolff, from the US Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, was tweeted, ‘liked’ or commented upon more than 80,000 times on social media, according to the journal site.