In a new study, researchers found that being previously infected with coronaviruses that cause the ‘common cold’ may decrease the severity of COVID-19 infection.
They also found that the immunity built up from previous non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections does not prevent people from getting COVID-19.
The findings provide important insight into the immune response against SARS-CoV-2, which could have significant implications on COVID-19 vaccine development.
The research was conducted by a team at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more than 210,000 deaths in the US, and more than one million globally.
There is a growing body of research looking into specific ways that the SARS-CoV-2 virus impacts different populations, including why some people are infected and are asymptomatic, as well as what increases one’s mortality as a result of infection.
There are a number of vaccines under development in order to determine what type of vaccine (mRNA, viral vector) will be most effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections.
While SARS-CoV-2 is a relatively new pathogen, there are many other types of coronaviruses that are endemic in humans and can cause the “common cold” and pneumonia.
These coronaviruses share some genetic sequences with SARS-CoV-2, and the immune responses from these coronaviruses can cross-react against SARS-CoV-2.
In this study, the researchers looked at electronic medical record data from individuals who had a respiratory panel test (CRP-PCR) result between May 18, 2015, and March 11, 2020.
The CRP-PCR detects diverse respiratory pathogens including the endemic “common cold” coronaviruses.
They also examined data from individuals who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 between March 12, 2020, and June 12, 2020.
They found COVID-19 hospitalized patients who had a previous positive CRP-PCR test result for a coronavirus had much lower odds of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and lower trending odds of requiring mechanical ventilation during COVID.
The probability of survival was also much higher in COVID-19 hospitalized patients with a previous positive test result for a “common cold” coronavirus.
However, a previous positive test result for a coronavirus did not prevent someone from getting infected with SARS-CoV-2.
These results show that people with evidence of a previous infection from a “common cold” coronavirus have less severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Another interesting finding is that immunity may prevent disease (COVID-19) in ways that are different from preventing infection by SARS-CoV-2.
This is demonstrated by the fact that the patient groups had similar likelihoods of infection but differing likelihoods of ending up in the ICU or dying.
One author of the study is Manish Sagar, MD, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Boston Medical Center.
The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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