The research draws on data from the Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-CoV-2 (HEROS) study, a large nationwide investigation that monitored over 4,100 individuals across 1,394 households between May 2020 and February 2021. The aim was to understand how common respiratory viruses interact with SARS-CoV-2, particularly in children.
Researchers discovered that participants—especially children—who had recently been infected with rhinovirus were significantly less likely to contract SARS-CoV-2 in the following weeks. This protective effect appears to be linked to the body’s natural antiviral response. Rhinoviruses trigger the release of interferons, a group of proteins that prime the immune system to fight off other viruses by acting as a first line of defense in the airways.
“Our findings suggest that the immune boost from a recent cold may give the body an early advantage in fighting SARS-CoV-2 before it has a chance to take hold,” said Max Seibold, PhD, senior author of the study and Director of the Regenerative Medicine and Genome Editing Program (REGEN) at National Jewish Health. “This may help explain why children, who tend to get more colds than adults, generally experience fewer and less severe COVID cases.”
The study involved thousands of self-collected nasal swabs, which were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, including rhinovirus. Researchers also assessed airway gene expression and found that children had higher baseline levels of interferon-related genes compared to adults, potentially giving them a stronger innate immune response.
The findings build on earlier HEROS study data showing children are six times less likely than adults to develop symptomatic COVID-19. The new results highlight how both age and recent viral exposures may contribute to this natural resilience.
Reference: Camille M Moore, Elizabeth A Secor, Jamie L Everman, Ana Fairbanks-Mahnke, Nathan Jackson, Elmar Pruesse, Katrina Diener, Andrew Morin, Samuel J Arbes, Leonard B Bacharier, Casper G Bendixsen, Agustin Calatroni, William D Dupont, Glenn T Furuta, Tebeb Gebretsadik, Rebecca S Gruchalla, Ruchi S Gupta, Gurjit K Khurana Hershey, Meyer Kattan, Andrew H Liu, Stephanie J Lussier, Liza Bronner Murrison, Mari Numata, George T O’Connor, Katherine Rivera-Spoljaric, Wanda Phipatanakul, Marc E Rothenberg, Christine M Seroogy, Edward M Zoratti, Sharon Castina, Daniel J Jackson, Carlos A Camargo, Christine C Johnson, Rachel Ethridge, Sima Ramratnam, Lia Stelzig, Stephen J Teach, Alkis G Togias, Patricia C Fulkerson, Tina V Hartert, Max A Seibold, on behalf of the HEROS study team, The Common Cold Is Associated With Protection From SARS-CoV-2 Infections, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2025;, jiaf374, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf374
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