In yet another hope to fight several Covid-19 symptoms, administering the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine could serve as a preventive measure to dampen septic inflammation associated with the virus infection, say researchers.
Vaccination with MMR in immune-competent individuals has no contraindications and may be especially effective for health care workers who can easily be exposed to Covid-19, said experts in a paper published in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
“A clinical trial with MMR in high-risk populations may provide a low-risk-high-reward preventive measure in saving lives during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dr Paul Fidel, Associate Dean for Research at Louisiana State University Health School of Dentistry.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt anybody to have an MMR vaccine that would protect against the measles, mumps, and rubella with this potential added benefit of helping against Covid-19,” Fidel added.
Mounting evidence demonstrates that live attenuated vaccines provide non-specific protection against lethal infections unrelated to the target pathogen of the vaccine by inducing trained nonspecific innate immune cells for improved host responses against subsequent infections.
Live attenuated vaccines induce nonspecific effects representing “trained innate immunity” by training leukocyte (immune system cells) precursors in the bone marrow to function more effectively against broader infectious insults.
In the laboratory of Dr Mairi Noverr, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, in collaboration with Dr. Fidel, vaccination with a live attenuated fungal strain-induced trained innate protection against lethal polymicrobial sepsis.
Mortality in COVID-19 cases is strongly associated with progressive lung inflammation and eventual sepsis.
Recent events provide support for the researchers’ hypothesis.
The milder symptoms seen in the 955 sailors on the USS Roosevelt who tested positive for Covid-19 (only one hospitalization) may have been a consequence of the fact that the MMR vaccinations are given to all U.S. Navy recruits.
In addition, epidemiological data suggest a correlation between people in geographical locations who routinely receive the MMR vaccine and reduced Covid-19 death rates.
“COVID-19 has not had a big impact on children, and the researchers hypothesize that one reason children are protected against viral infections that induce sepsis is their more recent and more frequent exposures to live attenuated vaccines that can also induce the trained suppressive MDSCs that limit inflammation and sepsis,” the authors wrote.
The researchers propose a clinical trial to test whether the MMR vaccine can protect against COVID-19 and, in the meantime, suggest that all adults, especially health care workers and individuals in nursing homes get the MMR vaccine.
New moms more like to suffer from depression, anxiety during COVID-19
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Toronto, June 20 (IANS) Ladies, please take note. Researchers have stressed that new mothers are more likely to suffer from post-natal depression and anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, revealed that the number of pregnant and postpartum women suffering from the condition have increased during the health crisis.
“The social and physical isolation measures that are critically needed to reduce the spread of the virus are taking a toll on the physical and mental health of many of us,” said study co-author Margie Davenport from the University of Alberta in Canada.
For new moms, those stresses come with side effects. Such effects can include premature delivery, reduced mother-infant bonding, and developmental delays in infants.
“We know that experiencing depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period can have detrimental effects on the mental and physical health of both mother and baby that can persist for years,” Davenport added.
For the findings, the research team surveyed 900 women – 520 of whom were pregnant and 380 of whom had given birth in the past year – and asked about their depression and anxiety symptoms before and during the pandemic.
Before the pandemic began, 29 per cent of those women experienced moderate to high anxiety symptoms, and 15 per cent experienced depressive symptoms.
The study found that during the pandemic, those numbers increased – 72 per cent experienced anxiety and 41 per cent experienced depression.
Because lockdown measures have affected daily routines and access to gyms, researchers also asked women whether their exercise habits had changed.
Of the women surveyed, 64 per cent reduced their physical activity since the pandemic began, while 15 per cent increased and 21 per cent experienced no change.
Exercise is a known way to ease depression symptoms, so limited physical activity may result in an uptick in depressive symptoms.
The study also showed that women who engaged in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week had significantly lower symptoms of depression and anxiety.
“Even when we are not in a global pandemic, many pregnant and postpartum women frequently feel isolated whether due to being hospitalised, not having family or friends around or other reasons,” she said.
“It is critical to increasing awareness of the impact of social (and physical) isolation on the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women,” the study authors wrote.
