Past COVID infections may help protect against certain colds. Could it lead to better vaccines?

By LAURA UNGAR
AP Science Writer

If you’ve been sick with COVID-19, you may have some protection against certain versions of the common cold. A new study suggests previous COVID-19 infections lower the risk of getting colds caused by milder coronavirus cousins. That could provide a key to creating broader COVID-19 vaccines. The research was published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The study looked at COVID-19 PCR tests from more than 4,900 people who sought medical care between November 2020 and October 2021. They found those who’d been infected with COVID-19 had about a 50% lower chance of having a symptomatic coronavirus-caused common cold compared with fully vaccinated people who never had COVID-19.