BCG Vaccine – A Ray Of Hope!

The Coronavirus Pandemic has created a fear in the people for several reasons, and ‘having no medicine’ is one among them. But now doctors are hoping that the BCG vaccine will increase the body’s immunity against the coronavirus SARS-COV-2. Earlier, the clinical trial which was done on patients who had a virus similar to SARS-CoV-2, showed that the BCG vaccine helped to decrease the levels of the virus in them.

Now, it is expected that this vaccine will reduce the Coronavirus positive cases across the world. The clinical trial will be a multi-center randomized controlled study. The bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine was developed and first used in 1921 to protect against tuberculosis (TB) infection. It contains a live but weakened strain of Mycobacterium Bovis, which is very closely related to the microbe that causes tuberculosis.

It also increases the trained immunity so the immune system is boosted against other bacteria and viruses. It is hoped that this immune-boosting effect of the BCG vaccine will help patients suffering from COVID-19. The trails are yet to be completed to know how well the BCG vaccine helps to reduce the effect of COVID19.

The studies are also looking into several things like if the vaccine can reduce the severity, work as a precautionary measure, speeds up the patient’s recovery process, any side effects or unusual issues, etc. The vaccine is an Approved Vaccine Product by the FDA for the prevention of tuberculosis in people who were previously infected with M. tuberculosis and who are at high risk of being infected with it.