Measles Vaccine 87.5% Effective For COVID-19 In Kids, Finds Indian Study

Measles vaccines could offer children some protection against the novel coronavirus until a COVID-19 jab is approved for their use, reveals early results from a study as reported by TOI.

UNICEF

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The study (published in journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics) was conducted by BJ Medical College in Pune where it looked at 548 participants aged from 1 to 17. These were segregated into two groups -- those who tested positive for COVID-19 (based on RT-PCR tests) and those who weren¡¯t.

All the participants had received Oral Polio vaccine, whereas all except one had received Bacillus Calmette Guerin vaccines.

Researchers discovered that recipients of Measles Containing Vaccines (MCVs) reduced incidence of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection cases in children. They also saw a drop in the number of asymptomatic cases. Moreover, age and sex didn¡¯t influence the protectio provided by the measles vaccine.

As per the study, the effectiveness against COVID-19 stood at a considerable 87.5 percent and that vaccinated individuals had less severe COVID-19 symptoms than the unvaccinated individuals.

Vaccine researcher Prasad Kulkarni, one of the investigators of the study, explained, ¡°Efficacy is the degree to which a vaccine prevents disease, and possibly transmission, under ideal and controlled circumstances (comparing a vaccinated group with a placebo group). Effectiveness refers to how well it performs in the real world.¡±

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This study supports and adds credibility to the hypothesis made by several researchers who said that kids may be protected against SARS CoV-2 infection through nonspecific-immunity provided by live-attenuated vaccines like measles and BCG.

In case you didn¡¯t know, the measles vaccine has been a part of our nation¡¯s immunisation program for over three decades. It is administered to a child twice -- once at the age of 9 months and the other at the age of 15 months.

Reuters

Researchers claim that even though their findings are encouraging, there is a need for a wider series of studies before coming to a definitive conclusion.

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Paediatrician Nilesh Gujar, the study¡¯s lead investigator says that the vaccine could also help prevent cytokine storms in kids affected with the novel coronavirus. He explained in a conversation with IndiaToday, that the reason they focussed on MMR vaccines for the study was because the amino acid sequence of SARS-CoV-2 is nearly 30 per cent similar to that of rubella virus. Moreover, the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 was identical to the hemagglutinin protein of the Measles virus.

In a statement to TOI, he said, ¡°The results of our study indicate that MCVs can be effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the paediatric population. This finding, however, needs to be confirmed further through prospective randomised clinical trials.¡±

Disclaimer: While there have been several different types of treatments being given to COVID-19 patients across the world, there isn¡¯t any one drug that has worked as a sure-shot treatment yet. Don¡¯t self medicate and always consult your doctor or medical health professional for any symptoms.