Can Routine Measles and Tetanus Vaccination Prevent Severe COVID-19?

Vaccines for MMR and Tdap -- Measles-Mumps-Rubella and Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis have been associated with increased protection against COVID-19 and reduction in severity of the disease.

The Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine given during early childhood, and Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap) vaccine given every 10 years may lower the risk of severe COVID-19 infection, according to a new study carried out by the researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US.

These vaccines are designed to induce a strong and long-lasting immune response through the creation of memory T-cells and B-cells, which in turn respond to viral antigens present in coronavirus. The study has been published in the journal Med.

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‘Individuals who had either Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) or Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap) vaccines had a much lower frequency of severe COVID-19 infection.’

The study was conducted using data from more than 75,000 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 between March 8, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

Later, researchers conducted laboratory-based analyses using sensitive, new techniques to detect and characterize T-cell responses to antigens.

They applied these techniques to measure the response of T-cells isolated from the blood of COVID-19 convalescent patients and those vaccinated against the disease to antigens from Sars-CoV-2 and the MMR and Tdap vaccines.

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Researchers found that patients who had previously been vaccinated for MMR had a 38 per cent decrease in hospitalization and a 32 per cent decrease in ICU admission/death. Similarly, patients previously vaccinated for Tdap had 23 per cent and 20 per cent decreased rates, respectively, of these outcomes.

The study results emphasized the importance of routine vaccination for children and adults, which have been affected in many countries due to COVID-19.

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Source-Medindia

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