Vaccinating against depression or anxiety: is it plausible?

Spotlight: An Interview with Dr. Christopher A. Lowry, on the Convergence of Microbes, Nature, and Mental Health

“…We typically do not use the term 'vaccinate' or 'vaccination' in the context of our work with M. vaccae NCTC 11659 as the lay understanding of 'vaccination' is an immunization that targets a pathogen or pathogens (e.g., the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is a recent example). Although it's possible that true 'vaccines' could be developed for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) that is secondary to infection (for a scholarly discussion of this issue, see Garay [37]), our approach is more accurately described as an immunoregulatory approach, or, more generally, an immunomodulatory approach, as the immunizations are designed to modulate how immune cells respond to future immune stimulation (by pathogenic or non-pathogenic organisms or their components), in an effort to prevent inappropriate inflammation and the downstream sequelae, including increased risk of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and trauma-and stressor-related disorders, such as PTSD.…”