H1N1 Vaccination Beacon of Hope to SARS-COV-2 Infection

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has been a nightmare for entire medical community with no definitive treatment available after nearly half a year. The impact on human civilization is farfetched. Aim: Amidst rising number of patients, countries facing second wave with no immediate respite in terms of protective vaccine the present study is a novel research that establishes link between cross protection by H1N1 Influenza vaccine and occurrence of COVID -19 infection. Material and Method: A prospective study was conducted in the department of Pathology and transfusion medicine at a tertiary care hospital in west India for time period of two months from mid-May to mid-July, 2020. The study group consisted of all adults tested for COVID-19 RTPCR for a period of two months. H1N1 vaccination with one year was considered as vaccinated and details of vaccination were collected at the time of sampling. Results: The study population consisted of 2482 patients, 186 (7049%) were positive for RTPCR and remaining 92.50% (2296) were negative. Among the total positive patients 128 (68.82%) were males and 58 (31.18%) were females. There were 2 (1.08%) COVID positive patients who had H1N1 vaccination within one year whereas 184 (99.92%) did not receive HINI vaccine at all. Among the 2296 (92.505) who tested negative for COVID PCR -124(5.40%) had H1N1 vaccination while remaining 2172 (94.60%) were not vaccinated. The chi square test revealed that H1N1 vaccinated individuals had lesser incidence of COVID PCR positivity, the finding was statistically significant (p value- 0.009748, p value <0.01) Conclusion: This is the first study to establish cross protection afforded by H1N1 vaccination against SARS COV-2 .The findings of the study will be a stimulus for more research and a ray of hope to medical fraternity globally that has been shaken by this ongoing pandemic.