Recent Cold may Offer Temporary Shield Against COVID-19, Study Finds
A recent study from National jewish Health suggests a surprising link between the common cold โand COVID-19: recent infection wiht rhinoviruses (theโ usual culprits behind โคcolds)โ may provide temporaryโ protection against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causingโข COVID-19. This discoveryโค offers โฃvaluable insight into why children frequently enough experience milder COVID cases and could pave the way โfor new strategies to combat respiratory illnesses.
The research, published in the Journal of โInfectious โขDiseases, analyzed data from overโ 4,100 individuals across 1,394 โhouseholds tracked during โtheโข early stagesโ of the pandemic (May 2020 – February 2021). Researchers discoveredโค that those with recent rhinovirus infections, โค especially children, were significantly less likely to become infected with โSARS-CoV-2 in the weeks following thier cold.
Thisโค protective effect is believed to stem from the body’s antiviral defenses.Rhinoviruses โคtrigger a robust interferon response inโฃ the airways, essentially “priming” โthe โimmune system to โmore effectively fight off subsequent viral invaders.โฃ As explained โคby senior โauthor Dr.Max โฃSeibold,“Our findings suggest that the โขimmune boost from a recent cold may โgive the body an early advantage in fighting SARS-CoV-2 before โit has aโข chance to take hold.This may help โexplain why children,โค who tend to get more โขcolds than adults, generally experience fewer andโค less severe COVID cases.”
The study utilized thousands of self-collected nasal swabs toโ test for both viruses โฃand analyzed airwayโ gene โexpression. Researchers found children already exhibitโค higher levels โof interferon-related genes โ- the immuneโฃ system’s first responders – compared โฃto adults.While the phenomenon of โ”heterologous โviral interference” (where one virus impactsโ the response to another) isn’t new, this isโฃ the first prospective study demonstrating it’s potential impact on SARS-CoV-2 infection. โ
Lead author Dr. Camille Moore cautions against intentionally seeking out a โcold,โ but emphasizesโ the importance of understanding these interactions: “Understanding how one virus can affect theโค body’s response to another couldโค help โusโ developโค new prevention strategies, especially for vulnerable populations.”
This research builds โupon previous findings from the same study,โ which showed children are six โtimes less likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19, further highlighting the role of โage-related immunity and prior viral exposureโข in protection.
Source: Moore, C.โค M., et al. (2025) The Commonโฃ Coldโ Is Associated With โProtection From SARS-CoV-2โข Infections. The Journal of Infectious diseases.https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf374