With scientists and researchers scratching their heads to find a cure for the coronavirus that has caused global scale disruptions, new research in the United States has revealed that the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths related to the virus are significantly lower in countries where tuberculosis (TB) vaccine was administered during childhood.
According to research conducted by US experts, the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine or BCG, which is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis in countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, is protecting people against COVID-19, if administered during childhoods.
Gonzalo Otazu, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the New York Institute of Technology, says the Coronavirus cases and mortality rates are higher in countries where the vaccine is no longer used, including countries like the US, Italy and the Netherlands. In contrast, in countries where the vaccine is still used, the mortality rate from Coronavirus is significantly lower.
Experts say that in countries where the vaccine was used late, the mortality rate is high and BCG is protecting the elderly who were administered by it in their childhoods.
It may be mentioned here that the BCG vaccine is given to newborns and young children to prevent TB.
Experts say the TB vaccine may prove to be a game-changer for the treatment of corona and in some countries, BCG vaccine clinical trials have been announced.