The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
vaccine could help to prevent inflammation in COVID-19, which is associated
with the most severe symptoms of the disease.
Share on PinterestNew research
suggests a common vaccine may help in the fight against COVID-19.
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There is growing evidence to suggest that using existing
vaccines could be beneficial against COVID-19 — even though they are not
specific to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Several clinical
trials are taking place around the world to test whether using
the BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) vaccine, which protects against tuberculosis
(TB), could be effective in COVID-19.
Scientists think that the vaccine could boost a person’s
immune response, reduce their levels of SARS-CoV-2, and lessen the symptoms
associated with COVID-19.
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A new report published in the American Society for
Microbiology’s journal mBio suggests
that the MMR vaccine, which is routinely administered in childhood, could serve
a similar purpose.
The researchers behind the article suggest that the vaccine
could dampen the severe inflammation associated with COVID-19 and mortality,
and propose a clinical trial for healthcare workers.
The type of vaccines that have an effect against unrelated
infectious are called live attenuated vaccines. This means they contain
real viruses or bacteria that scientists have weakened in a laboratory.
Studies show that these vaccines protect against other
infections by ‘training’ the immune system in a non-specific way. This type of
non-specific immune response is the first line of defense against infection and
is called the innate immune response.
“Live attenuated vaccines seemingly have some nonspecific
benefits as well as immunity to the target pathogen,” explains co-author of the
new paper Dr. Paul Fidel, Jr., Associate Dean for Research at Louisiana State
University Health School of Dentistry in New Orleans.
Dr. Fidel, together with Dr. Mairi Noverr, Professor of
Microbiology & Immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New
Orleans, suggest that the protection afforded by these vaccines is due to
myeloid-derived suppressor cells, or MDSCs, a type of immune cell that comes
from bone marrow.
Scientists have shown that these cells can reduce
inflammation and mortality in mouse models of infection. In their own research,
Drs. Fidel and Noverr have shown that vaccination with a live-attenuated fungus
may protect against sepsis thanks to MDSCs.
Drs. Fidel and Noverr say an MMR vaccine could induce MDSCs
in people with COVID-19, which could help them to fight the lung inflammation
and sepsis associated with the most severe forms of the
disease.
As evidence for this, they cite the recent case where 955
sailors on the U.S.S. Roosevelt tested positive for COVID-19 but only
experienced mild symptoms.
The researchers suggest that this may be because all U.S.
Navy recruits receive the MMR vaccination. However, it is likely that the age
and fitness of the sailors also played a part in their recovery.
Other evidence in support of a connection between the MMR
vaccine and COVID-19 recovery comes from epidemiological data. People who live
in areas that routinely receive the MMR vaccine have lower COVID-19 death
rates.
COVID-19 is also less likely to affect children, which may
also have links to vaccination. While age is a known risk factor for COVID-19
severity, the fact that many children have had more recent exposure to live
attenuated vaccines could also play a role in their protection, the article
suggests.
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