Is there a link between pre-existing antibodies acquired due to childhood vaccinations or past infections and COVID-19? A case control study.
PeerJ
; 9: e10910, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1076853
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
There is growing evidence indicating that children are less affected from COVID-19. Some authors speculate that childhood vaccinations may provide some cross-protection against COVID-19. In this study, our aim was to compare the circulating antibody titers for multiple childhood vaccine antigens, as an indicator of the state of immune memory between patients with COVID-19 and healthy controls, with a specific aim to identify the association between disease severity and antibody titrations which may indicate a protective function related to vaccine or disease induced memory.METHODS:
This study is a case-control study including 53 patients with COVID-19 and 40 healthy volunteers. COVID-19 severity was divided into three groups asymptomatic, mild and severe. We measured the same set of antibody titers for vaccine antigens, and a set of biochemical and infection markers, in both the case and control groups.RESULTS:
Rubella (p = 0.003), pneumococcus (p = 0.002), and Bordetella pertussis (p < 0.0001) titers were found to be significantly lower in the case group than the control group. There was a significant decline in pneumococcus titers with severity of disease (p = 0.021) and a significant association with disease severity for Bordetella pertussis titers (p = 0.014) among COVID patients. Levels of AST, procalcitonin, ferritin and D-dimer significantly increased with the disease severity.DISCUSSION:
Our study supports the hypothesis that pre-existing immune memory, as monitored using circulating antibodies, acquired from childhood vaccinations, or past infections confer some protection against COVID-19. Randomized controlled studies are needed to support a definitive conclusion.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Language:
English
Journal:
PeerJ
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Peerj.10910
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