WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Higher COVID-19 vaccination rates are associated with a lower prevalence of parent-reported childhood asthma symptoms, according to a research letter published online July 3 in JAMA Network Open.

Matthew M. Davis, M.D., from Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, Delaware, and Lakshmi K. Halasyamani, M.D., from Endeavor Health in Evanston, Illinois, examined whether symptomatic asthma is positively associated with population-level COVID-19 mortality and whether the association is affected by COVID-19 primary vaccination and state face mask mandates. State-level change scores were calculated for parent-reported childhood asthma symptom prevalence for 2020 to 2021 versus 2018 to 2019.

The researchers observed a decrease in the mean state-level prevalence of parent-reported childhood asthma symptoms, from 7.77 percent in 2018 to 2019 to 6.93 percent in 2020 to 2021 (absolute mean change score, −0.85 percentage points). The mean age-adjusted state-level COVID-19 mortality rate was 80.3 and 99.3 per 100,000 population in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Through December 2021, the mean state-level COVID-19 primary series vaccination rate was 72.3 percent. Parent-reported child asthma symptom prevalence decreased by 0.36 percentage points with each 10 percent increase in COVID-19 vaccination coverage. No association was seen for child asthma symptom prevalence with state-level COVID-19 mortality or face mask requirements.

“Higher COVID-19 vaccination rates may confer protection against symptomatic asthma,” the authors write. “COVID-19 vaccination yields prophylactic benefits against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection for individual children and may also protect against other human coronaviruses through cross-reactive antibody responses.”

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