We suggested in March and June of 2020 that studies and surveys be done to determine why children seem to be less effected by covid19, and that existing vaccines and other recent viral infections may provide partial protection against covid19. The Mayo Clinic has now reported one or more non-COVID, FDA-approved, readily available vaccines, may have some protective effect in covid19. Vaccines reported to have some protective effect included the MMR, the polio vaccine, the influenza vaccine, and the pneumonia vaccine.
The study found:
• A 3.1% COVID-19 positive rate among 53 people who had received the MMR vaccine in the past year and a 5.5% rate among 94 people who hadn’t—a 44% protective effect.
• A 1.57% among 190 seniors who received the geriatric flu vaccine within a year, compared to 2.1% among 257 who did not—a 26% protective benefit.
• A 28% reduction in COVID-19 risk in seniors who received the PCV13 pneumonia vaccine in the past year showed.
• A 43% reduction in risk in people who received the polio vaccine prior to travels to at-risk locations
The greatest protection from existing vaccines was when the vaccinations had been received within one year, but the vaccines provided some protection if received in the prior five years. Schools are reopening and the influenza season is upon us. Up-to-date vaccines are an important defense that may mitigate the risk of covid19, and may explain the divergent effect of covid19 in children.