Covid-19 infection reduces the likelihood of colds; study

WASHINGTON.— If you have had Covid-19you may have some protection against some versions of the common flu.

And new study suggests that Covid-19 infections previous reduce the risk of developing colds caused by milder cousins ​​of the coronavirus, which would be key to expanding Covid-19 vaccines.

“We believe there will be a future outbreak of a coronavirus,” warns the doctor Manish Sagar, lead author of the paper, published yesterday in “Science Translational Medicine.”

“Las Vaccines could be improved If we replicate some of the immune responses that are provided by a natural infection,” he says.

He Study evaluated Covid-19 PCR tests performed on 4,900 people who sought medical care between November 2020 and October 2021. After controlling for factors such as age, gender, and preexisting conditions, Sagar and colleagues found that those who had previously contracted Covid-19 were 50% less likely to develop a cold common with symptoms caused by a coronavirus, compared to those who were fully vaccinated at that time and had not been infected.

Several viruses cause colds; coronaviruses are thought to be responsible for about one in five of them.

Researchers have linked protection against colds caused by coronaviruses to the response of antiviral cells to two specific viral proteins. These proteins are not used in most vaccines, but experts propose adding them in the future.

“Our studies suggest that these could be novel strategies for better vaccines that not only address current coronaviruses, but any future coronaviruses that may emerge,” says Sagar, of the Boston Medical Center.

They defend vaccines

He doctor Wesley Long, pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas who was not involved in the study, clarifies that the findings should not be seen as a blow to current vaccineswhich target the “spike” protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

These biologics, he stresses, remain “your best defense against severe Covid-19 infection, hospitalization and death.”