The Association of Previous Vaccination with Live-Attenuated Varicella Zoster Vaccine and COVID-19 Positivity: An Israeli Population-Based Study.

ABSTRACT: The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine affords indirect protection against COVID-19, which is presumably due to priming of the innate immune system. It was hypothesized that the live attenuated Varicella Zoster (LAVZ) vaccine, recommended for the elderly population, would also protect against COVID-19 infection. A retrospective population-based cross-sectional study was conducted using the Leumit Health Services (LHS) database. LAVZ-vaccinated patients were matched with controls based on a propensity score model using 1:9 nearest-neighbor matching. Matching was based on age, gender, and the presence of some chronic disorders, which were selected according to their association with COVID-19 infection. Multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjusted for sex, age, smoking status, como

SUBMITTER: Merzon E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8777897 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature