Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : September 2, 2021 4:25 PM IST
MMR vaccine is given in early childhood. © Shutterstock
Those who have received Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) and Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap) vaccines may be at lower risk of getting severe sick with COVID-19. A new study has revealed that the MMR vaccine, given during early childhood, and Tdap vaccine, given every 10 years, can provide additional protection against COVID-19.
Vaccines help develop immunity against diseases through the creation of memory T cells and B cells. The new study published in Med suggested that pre-existing memory T cells generated by prior MMR or Tdap vaccination and activated by SARS-CoV-2 infection can give the immune system a head start in responding to the deadly virus, thereby lowering the risk of severe COVID-19.
The first dose of MMR vaccine is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, and a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, with a gap of at least 4 weeks between the doses.
Tdap vaccination is recommended at age 11 12 years, followed by booster shots every 10 years with either Tdap or Td (only tetanus and diphtheria). One dose of Tdap vaccine is recommended in the second half of each pregnancy, even if you have been vaccinated in the past, to protect your newborn from whooping cough (pertussis).
In the study, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital measured the response of T cells isolated from the blood of COVID-19 convalescent patients and patients vaccinated against COVID-19 to antigens from SARS-CoV-2 and the MMR and Tdap vaccines in the laboratory. They also leveraged a large, well-annotated cohort of COVID-19 patients in collaboration with researchers at Cleveland Clinic. Overall, they found that prior MMR or Tdap vaccination was associated with decreased COVID-19 severity.
Patients who had previously been vaccinated for MMR had a 38 percent decrease in COVID-related hospitalization and a 32 percent decrease in COVID-related admission to the intensive care unit or death. Similarly, patients who had Tdap vaccine had 23 percent and 20 percent decreased rates in hospitalization and ICU admission/death respectively.
Based on their study results, the research team concluded that these commonly given vaccines may protect against severe COVID-19 disease and emphasized the importance of routine vaccinations for children and adults. Sadly, countries have reported a significant decline in routine vaccinations for children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The authors noted that although MMR and Tdap are not a substitute for COVID-19 vaccines, they could help protect infected individuals from developing severe disease in areas where the COVID-19 vaccines are not available. The MMR and Tdap vaccines may also offer greater and more durable protection against emerging spike variants than the COVID-19 vaccine alone.
