COVID-19 Vaccines Confer a Prophylactic Effect on Common Cold

Abstract

Common cold is an upper respiratory infection with relatively high mortality and infection rate. This is especially true among immunosuppressed individuals. The infection can be caused by human coronaviruses of which common cold coronaviruses-229E, -NL63, -OC43, and -HKU1 are the major etiological agents. These viruses also belong to the same family as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that cause the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to the development of the various COVID-19 vaccines. The coronaviruses all express similar types of proteins, the membrane, spike, envelope protein, and the nucleocapsid. The spike protein is the main antigenic determinant and also induces an endoplasmic reticulum stress response. Cross-reactivity on the antigenic determinants between both groups of coronaviruses exists due to similar main antigenic orientation. Studies on the strength of the immune responses evoked by either SARS-CoV-2 or the human common cold coronaviruses towards each other is inconclusive; averagely demonstrating that antibodies (Abs) against SARS-CoV-2 can neutralize antigens (Ags) on common cold coronaviruses. Due to cross-reactivity, theoretically vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 can be used to fight common cold coronavirus infections due to the two expressing similar antigenic determinants that elicit an immune response for the homologous antigen.