key: cord-0948093-6bqoxx82
authors: Alkholy, Usama M.; Salama, Mohamed E; Mahmoud, Hagar; Taher, Ahmed; Elsayes, Khaled M.
title: Could Bordetella pertussis vaccine protect against coronavirus COVID-19?
date: 2020-07-16
journal: J Glob Antimicrob Resist
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2020.07.005
sha: 0a06613c9de494e6f57b697901eeb104ff954f1d
doc_id: 948093
cord_uid: 6bqoxx82

nan

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of today, there are 2,165,500 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and 145,705 deaths in over 185 countries. Unfortunately, despite the tremendous efforts to develop a vaccine initiated by various leading health institutions all over the world, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it may be 18 months before a vaccine against the coronavirus is publicly available. The limitations are not only related to vaccine development but also where phase 3 trials will be performed and who will manufacture vaccine at scale, as no single institution has the capacity or facilities all steps to develop, test and manufacture a vaccine by itself. As such, an ideal solution would entail identification of existing, approved therapies or protective approach with proven safety profiles to address the immediate need to reduce the rising mortality.

Given the rapid ongoing spread of COVID-19, thousands of lives will be lost before a vaccine can be developed and tested. Therefore, an alternative solution must be found to address this crisis. We propose testing the use of the Bordetella pertussis vaccine to protect against COVID-19. Herein, we summarize our observational theory, as follows:

1. It has been reported that among sample patients infected with COVID-19 in China, the share of infected patients from 0-19 years old was around 1% ( fig. 1 ) (1).

2. It has also been reported that the case fatality rates for the age groups of 0-9 years 8. In 2011, CDC recommended boosters for pertussis vaccination along with the tetanus and diphtheria toxoid during each pregnancy. This may also explain the gender differences in patients with COVID-19 regarding incidence, severity and mortality. [6] .

In conclusion, we can hypothesize that the protective effect of the Bordetella pertussis vaccine might be the cause of the low fatality of the coronavirus COVID-19 patients in the population under 19 years through its cytokine storm damping effect. Lower incidence in younger population could be potential related to a mild presentation that doesn't need hospitalization. Moreover, attenuated Bordetella Pertussis can serve as an effective mucosal vaccine delivery system. This theory can be supported by the exponential increased incidence of COVID-19 with older ages when the pertussis vaccine effect begins to fade away which usually takes an average of 4-7 years after the last booster dose of pertussis vaccine. This theory gives hope to prevent further cases of COVID-19 and necessitates to be validated by research studies to prove the value of administering a booster dose of Bordetella pertussis vaccine along with diphtheria and tetanus toxoid can protect against COVID-19 infection or at least decrease its severity and consequently improving the outcome particularly in the older or J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f high-risk population. We are delivering this theory to the scientific community, aiming to raise the concern about it, and to provide us with support by realistic and experimental evidence.

Not required.

None

COVID-19) -Statistics and Research. Our World in Data

Clinical predictors of mortality due to COVID-19 based on an analysis of data of 150 patients from Wuhan, China. Intensive care medicine

Vaccination with pertussis toxin alters the antibody response to simultaneous respiratory syncytial virus challenge. The Journal of infectious diseases

Attenuated Bordetella pertussis vaccine protects against respiratory syncytial virus disease via an IL-17-dependent mechanism

Attenuated Bordetella pertussis protects against highly pathogenic influenza A viruses by dampening the cytokine storm

Pertussis: a reemerging infection

None to declare.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f