Study suggests COVID-19 vaccination might have
broader benefits for children living with asthma
WILMINGTON, Del., July 3, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- States with high rates of COVID-19 vaccination saw
more pediatric asthma patients get a break from their symptoms,
according to new research published today in JAMA Network
Open by leaders from Nemours Children's Health and Endeavor
Health.
"Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses among
children in the United States,
with about 4.7 million children experiencing symptoms each year,"
said lead author Matthew M. Davis,
MD, MAPP, Executive Vice-President, Enterprise Physician-in-Chief
and Chief Scientific Officer of Nemours Children's Health. "Whether
asthma is mild or severe, it affects children's quality of life. So
anything we can do to help kids avoid flare-ups is beneficial."
In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, social
distancing and school closures are thought to have resulted in
fewer flares of asthma for many pediatric patients. Dr. Davis and
coauthor Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD, Chief Clinical Officer of
Endeavor Health in Evanston,
Illinois, wondered whether that benefit extended into 2021,
as the first vaccines against COVID-19 were being widely
administered to adults and then children.
In the study, Drs. Davis and Halasyamani compared the change in
parent-reported childhood asthma symptoms between 2018-2019 and
2020-2021. They combined that data with state COVID-19 vaccination
rates for people ages 5 and up in 2020-2021, as reported by the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The researchers found that with each increase of 10 percentage
points in COVID-19 vaccination coverage, parent-reported child
asthma symptoms decreased by .36 percentage points.
States in the highest quarter of COVID-19 vaccination rates
overall had a decrease in asthma symptoms of 1.7 percentage
points—an almost 3 times more favorable impact than states in the
lowest quarter of COVID-19 vaccination rates overall, which saw an
average decrease in asthma symptoms of only 0.6 percentage points
in 2020-2021, compared with 2018-2019.
The coauthors explained that several factors could have
contributed to the reduction in asthma symptoms. Community-level
immunity, also called "herd immunity," in states with higher
vaccination rates may have helped reduce children's risk of
contracting COVID-19 and developing asthma complications. Another
possibility is that children living in states with higher COVID-19
vaccination rates may have been more likely to get the shots soon
after immunizations were approved for their age groups.
According to the coauthors, these findings also raise the
possibility that COVID-19 vaccinations may effectively fight other
illnesses that stem from coronaviruses, including the common
cold.
"Ongoing vaccination against COVID-19 may offer direct benefits
for children with a history of asthma, but this must be confirmed
with further research," said Dr. Halasyamani. "It also raises the
question of whether broader population-level COVID-19 vaccination
among children and adults can help protect children with asthma,
too."
The coauthors pointed out that one limitation of the study is
that it did not measure vaccination rates specifically in children
with asthma. In addition, while parent-reported data is considered
a meaningful measure of patient experience, additional data such as
hospital stays or emergency department visits could be used to
verify these findings.
About Nemours Children's Health
Nemours Children's Health is one of the nation's largest
multistate pediatric health systems, which includes two
freestanding children's hospitals and a network of more than 70
primary and specialty care practices. Nemours Children's seeks to
transform the health of children by adopting a holistic health
model that utilizes innovative, safe, and high-quality care, while
also addressing children's needs well beyond medicine. In producing
the highly acclaimed, award-winning pediatric medicine podcast Well
Beyond Medicine, Nemours underscores that commitment by featuring
the people, programs and partnerships addressing whole child
health. Nemours Children's also powers the world's most-visited
website for information on the health of children and teens,
Nemours KidsHealth.org.
The Nemours Foundation, established through the legacy and
philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, provides pediatric clinical care,
research, education, advocacy, and prevention programs to the
children, families and communities it serves. For more information,
visit Nemours.org.
About Endeavor Health
Endeavor Health℠ is a Chicagoland-based
integrated health system driven by the mission to help everyone in
their communities be their best. Illinois' third-largest health system and
third-largest medical group serves an area of more than 4.2 million
residents across seven northeast Illinois counties. More than 27,000 team
members and more than 7,100 physician and advance practice provider
partners deliver seamless access to personalized, pioneering,
world-class patient care across more than 300 ambulatory locations
and nine hospitals, including eight Magnet-recognized acute care
hospitals – Edward (Naperville),
Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenbrook (Glenview), Highland
Park, Northwest Community
(Arlington Heights), Skokie and Swedish (Chicago) and Linden Oak Behavioral Health
Hospital (Naperville). For more
information, visit www.endeavorhealth.org.
Nemours Media
Contact:
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Endeavor Media
Contact:
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Kathryn
Skeen
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Keith
Hartenberger
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Kathryn.skeen@nemours.org
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Keith.hartenberger@eehealth.org
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302.690.0604
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312.771.2525
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SOURCE Endeavor Health