Common childhood vaccines do not elicit a cross-reactive antibody response against SARS-CoV-2.

• Main Authors: Ahmed Kandeil, Mokhtar R Gomaa, Ahmed El Taweel, Ahmed Mostafa, Mahmoud Shehata, Ahmed E Kayed, Omnia Kutkat, Yassmin Moatasim, Sara H Mahmoud, Mina Nabil Kamel, Noura M Abo Shama, Mohamed El Sayes, Rabeh El-Shesheny, Mahmoud A Yassien, Richard J Webby, Ghazi Kayali, Mohamed A Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241471

Anecdotal evidence showed a negative correlation between Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and incidence of COVID-19. Incidence of the disease in children is much lower than in adults. It is hypothesized that BCG and other childhood vaccinations may provide some protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection through trained or adaptive immune responses. Here, we tested whether BCG, Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae, Hepatitis B, Meningococcal, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccines provide cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in BALB/c mice. Results indicated that none of these vaccines provided antibodies capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 up to seven weeks post vaccination. We conclude that if such vaccines have any role in COVID-19 immunity, this role is not antibody-mediated.