Prior COVID-19 Infection May Protect Against Common Colds: Study

COVID-19 vaccination does not protect against the colds, researchers find.

This scanning electron microscope image shows the novel coronavirus (orange), which causes COVID-19 disease, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab. Photo published on Feb. 13, 2020. NIAID-RML

People with a history of COVID-19 infection are better protected against common colds than people who received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new study.

Infection and vaccination triggered similar antibody responses in study participants, but T cell responses targeting endemic coronaviruses, which cause some common colds, were found only in people with past infection with COVID-19, which is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on June 12.