Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33032174›Full record

ArticleMedical hypotheses2020

COVID-19 in children: Could pertussis vaccine play the protective role?

Mohamad Bachar Ismail, Sarah Al Omari, Rayane Rafei, Fouad Dabboussi, Monzer Hamze

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical hypotheses, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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  4. Article
  5. Value of Immunizations during the COVID-19 Emergency.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mohamad Bachar IsmailLaboratoire Microbiologie, Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon; Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon.
Sarah Al OmariDepartment of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Rayane RafeiLaboratoire Microbiologie, Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon.
Fouad DabboussiLaboratoire Microbiologie, Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon.
Monzer HamzeLaboratoire Microbiologie, Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon. Electronic address: mhamze@monzerhamze.com.
Lebanese University · LBAmerican University of Beirut · LB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

While COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, diligent efforts are made to understand its attributes and dynamics to help develop treatment and prevention measures. The paradox pertaining to children being the least affected by severe illness poses exciting opportunities to investigate potential protective factors. In this paper, we propose that childhood vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) might play a non-specific protective role against COVID-19 through heterologous adaptive responses in this young population. Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable infectious disease of the respiratory tract and it shares many similarities with COVID-19 including transmission and clinical features. Although pertussis is caused by a bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) while COVID-19 is a viral infection (SARS-CoV-2), previous data showed that cross-reactivity and heterologous adaptive responses can be seen with unrelated agents of highly divergent groups, such as between bacteria and viruses. While we build the arguments of this hypothesis on theoretical and previous empirical evidence, we also outline suggested lines of research from different fields to test its credibility. Besides, we highlight some concerns that may arise when attempting to consider such an approach as a potential public health preventive intervention against COVID-19.

Indexed as

Pertussis VaccineAnimalsBordetella pertussisChildCOVID-19HumansImmunity, HeterologousLymphocytesModels, TheoreticalPertussis ToxinPreventive MedicinePublic HealthRespiratory SystemPertussis ToxinPertussis VaccineChildrenCOVID-19Cross-reactivityHeterologous immunityNon-specific effectsPertussis vaccineSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33032174
PMCPMC7521348
OpenAlexW3088896103

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.