Does Prior Immunization With Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccines Affect the Antibody Response to Covid-19 Antigens? Publisher Pubmed



Hassani D¹ ; Amiri MM¹ ; Maghsood F¹ ; Salimi V² ; Kardar GA³ ; Barati O⁴ ; Hashemian SMR⁵ ; Jedditehrani M⁶ ; Zarnani AH¹ ; Shokri F¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Iranian Journal of Immunology Published:2021

Abstract

Background: Incidence and severity of SARS-CoV2 infection are significantly lower in children and teenagers proposing that certain vaccines, routinely administered to neonates and children may provide cross-protection against this emerging infection. Objective: To assess the cross-protection induced by prior measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations against COVID-19. Methods: The antibody responses to MMR and tetanus vaccines were determined in 53 patients affected with SARS-CoV2 infection and 52 age-matched healthy subjects. Serum levels of antibodies specific for NP and RBD of SARS-CoV2 were also determined in both groups of subjects with ELISA. Results: Our results revealed significant differences in anti-NP (P<0.0001) and anti-RBD (P<0.0001) IgG levels between patients and healthy controls. While the levels of rubella-and mumps-specific IgG were not different in the two groups of subjects, measles-specific IgG was significantly higher in patients (P<0.01). The serum titer of anti-tetanus antibody, however, was significantly lower in patients compared to healthy individuals (P<0.01). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that measles vaccination trigger those B cells cross-reactive with SARS-CoV2 antigens leading to production of increased levels of measles-specific IgG. © 2021, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.