Children vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcus are less likely to experience COVID-19 symptoms

The flu and pneumococcus vaccine can potentially protect children from COVID-19, said American scientists after examining the medical records of 905 children who had COVID-19 confirmed from February to August last year.

According to medportal.ru, the children were divided into groups: asymptomatic carriers, mild, moderate, and severe disease. The scientists compared the data obtained with information on influenza vaccination from September 2019 to April 2020 and against pneumococcus throughout life.

Thus, children vaccinated against the flu were more likely to carry the infection asymptomatically than their peers with no vaccines. Moreover, these children were less likely to show symptoms of other respiratory diseases.

Children who received the pneumococcal vaccine also showed significantly fewer coronavirus symptoms compared to those who were not vaccinated.

According to scientists, the cause of this phenomenon may be the so-called viral interference, when the multiplication of one infection can be suppressed by other viruses.