Routine vaccination can prevent severe COVID-19, says study

The research findings come at a time when India is gearing up for a third wave of coronavirus infections, which could have a huge impact on children this time around. The researchers indicated that it was possible that these vaccines would enable cross-reactive memory T cells to respond to protein targets called antigens that are present in other microbes that cause diseases, including the viral antigens in SARS-CoV-2. causes are made.

Pre-existing memory T cells generated by prior MMR or Tdap vaccination and activated by SARS-CoV-2 infection give the immune system a head start in responding, thereby reducing the risk of severe COVID-19, scientists have found in their study. said in the study. Also published in the peer reviewed journal Med.

To test whether the MMR and Tdap vaccines provide additional protection against COVID-19, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital under Harvard Medical School used sensitive, Conducted laboratory-based analyzes using new techniques.

“Our Cleveland Clinic colleagues observed an association where individuals with COVID-19 who had the MMR or Tdap vaccines had a much lower frequency of going to the intensive care unit or dying,” said co-author Andrew Lichman, an immunologist and senior investigator. he said. Professor of Pathology at Brigham’s Department of Pathology and Harvard Medical School.

“Although smaller previous studies suggested a similar link, our in-depth epidemiological analysis, together with our basic research results, suggest that these commonly given vaccines may protect against serious disease,” Lichtman said.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we know there was a significant decline in routine vaccination for children and adolescents,” said corresponding author Tanya Mayadas, PhD, a senior scientist in Brigham’s Department of Pathology and professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. said. . “Our findings emphasize the importance of routine vaccination for children and adults. We know that vaccines protect against devastating diseases, and we are now seeing increasing evidence that some of them protect against serious COVID-19 disease. provide.”

The authors note that while their laboratory-based findings are strengthened by epidemiological observations, more work is needed to assess the association between MMR and Tdap vaccination and COVID-19 disease severity to determine whether It can be seen that the relationship is a cause. Prospective studies of vaccination and patient outcomes may help to separate correlation from causation.

“With respect to COVID-19 vaccines, our findings predict that although MMR and Tdap are not alternatives to COVID-19 vaccines, they may provide greater sustainable protection, potentially leading to an emerging spike compared to the COVID-19 vaccine alone. against variants,” he said. Mayadas. “And in areas where vaccines for COVID-19 are not available, they may protect infected individuals from developing serious illness.”

The Harvard study is similar to a research conducted by BJ Medical College in Pune, India, which showed that the measles vaccine had an efficacy rate of 87.5% against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, also indicated that the measles vaccine may provide long-term protection against COVID infection in children.