New research reveals a surprising benefit of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns: fewer asthma symptoms in children. A study published today in JAMA Network Open shows that states with higher vaccination rates saw a steeper decline in pediatric asthma prevalence compared to less-vaccinated states.
Researchers from Nemours Children’s Health and Endeavor Health analyzed parent-reported asthma symptoms in children before and during the pandemic. They then compared this data with state-level COVID-19 vaccination rates for people aged 5 and up.
Vaccination Rates Correlate with Asthma Symptom Reduction
The findings were striking. For every 10 percentage point increase in COVID-19 vaccination coverage, there was a 0.36 percentage point decrease in reported child asthma symptoms.
States in the highest quarter of vaccination rates saw an even more dramatic effect. These states experienced a 1.7 percentage point drop in asthma symptoms – nearly three times the decrease observed in states with the lowest vaccination rates.
Lead author Dr. Matthew M. Davis, Executive Vice-President and Chief Scientific Officer of Nemours Children’s Health, emphasized the importance of these findings: “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. 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.”
Potential Mechanisms and Future Research
The researchers propose several explanations for this unexpected benefit. Higher community-level immunity in well-vaccinated states may have reduced children’s overall risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing asthma complications. Additionally, children in these states may have been more likely to receive the vaccine themselves once it was approved for their age group.
Dr. Lakshmi Halasyamani, Chief Clinical Officer of Endeavor Health and study co-author, noted the potential broader implications: “Ongoing vaccination against COVID-19 may offer direct benefits for children with a history of asthma, but this must be confirmed with further research. 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 study authors acknowledge some limitations, including the lack of specific vaccination data for children with asthma. They also suggest that future research could incorporate additional metrics, such as hospital stays or emergency department visits, to further validate these findings.
As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19 and its long-term effects, this research offers a glimmer of hope. It suggests that vaccination efforts may have far-reaching benefits beyond their primary goal of preventing severe COVID-19 cases. For millions of children living with asthma and their families, this unexpected side effect of the vaccination campaign could mean easier breathing and improved quality of life.
