BCG Vaccine News and Research

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The BCG Vaccine is a vaccine containing bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, with non-specific immunoadjuvant and immunotherapeutic activities. Although the mechanism of its anti-tumor activity is unclear, immunization with BCG vaccine likely activates a Th1 cytokine response that includes the induction of interferon. Vaccination with BCG vaccine may be immunoprotective against infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Certain live-attenuated vaccines can prevent severe complications of COVID-19

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc globally, with over one million deaths to date. Yet what if an existing vaccine could make COVID-19 less deadly? A study just published put the theory to test, with promising results.

15 Oct 2020

The COVID-19 vaccine pipeline

Researchers from Mayo Clinic, United States of America, have reviewed the immunity developed against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 disease.

14 Oct 2020

New trial tests the effectiveness of BCG vaccine against COVID-19

A largescale global trial designed to test the theory that the widely-used BCG vaccine could help protect against COVID-19 will soon recruit healthcare staff and care home workers in the UK.

12 Oct 2020

BCG vaccine may offer protection against COVID-19, shows study

While scientists race to develop and test a vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, recent studies have indicated that countries with widespread BCG vaccination appear to be weathering the pandemic better than their counterparts.

22 Sep 2020

Seasonal influenza and COVID-19 risk

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, researchers from Laval University and McGill University in Canada reviewed evidence from 18 relevant studies on a possible interaction between influenza vaccines on non-influenza respiratory disease (NIRD).

6 Sep 2020

BCG vaccine offers protection for elderly people against respiratory infections

The BCG vaccine has a broad, stimulating effect on the immune system. This gives it an effective preventive action against various infections - possibly also against COVID-19. New studies are investigating that.

1 Sep 2020

Routine BCG immunization in infancy and COVID-19 containment in Japan

. A new study explores whether and how the practice of routine BCG vaccination of infants may have curbed the initial spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Japan. The research is published in the Journal of Infection.

19 Aug 2020

Higher BCG vaccination coverage associated with improved COVID-19 outcomes

A tuberculosis vaccine administered during the past 15 years is associated with significantly improved COVID-19 outcomes, according to a new study published in Vaccines.

12 Aug 2020

COVID-19: BCG vaccine is safe and possibly has a positive effect

The BCG vaccine, a vaccine originally made against tuberculosis, has a general stimulating effect on the immune system and is therefore effective against multiple infectious diseases - possibly also against COVID-19.

6 Aug 2020

Latent tuberculosis infection in European countries closely correlates with COVID-19 infection

In a recent medRxiv preprint research paper, scientists from India analyzed twenty European countries and showed that the prevalence of exposure to Mycobacterium spp. (which includes BCG vaccine) is consistently negatively correlated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.

15 Jul 2020

Tuberculosis vaccine may play a significant role in mitigating COVID-19 mortality rates

One of the emerging questions about the coronavirus that scientists are working to understand is why developing countries are showing markedly lower rates of mortality in COVID-19 cases than expected.

8 Jul 2020

BCG vaccination strengthens the immune system

A tuberculosis vaccine developed 100 years ago also makes vaccinated persons less susceptible to other infections. While this effect has been recognized for a long time, it is not known what causes it.

15 Jun 2020

Tuberculosis and polio vaccines may offer temporary protection against SARS-CoV-2

As the world grapples with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, scientists race to develop an effective vaccine to protect against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. While potential vaccines are still being developed and tested, researchers propose that existing vaccines could give the immune system a temporary boost to ward off infection.

14 Jun 2020

"A shred of evidence" BCG vaccinations protect against COVID-19

Professor David Levine from the University of California, Berkeley, says a study of people in Spain and Italy has provided a “shred of evidence” that the BCG vaccination may protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

9 Jun 2020

A $10 million grant enables expansion of BCG vaccine trial against COVID-19

An A$10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow the Murdoch Children's Research Institute's clinical trial of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 to extend to 10,000 healthcare workers across Australia, Spain and The Netherlands.

4 May 2020

Is the BCG vaccine really protective against COVID-19?

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 challenges the hypothesis that BCG vaccination confers some degree of protection against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the pneumonic illness COVID-19.

26 Apr 2020

Link between BCG and lower COVID-19 mortality disproved by new analysis

The association between BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccination and its purported beneficial effect on COVID-19 transmission/mortality rates was challenged in an expert appraisal of Diamond Princess cruise ship data. At the same time, cross-national differences previously reported were shown to be flawed, reports a new medRxiv study.

23 Apr 2020

Putting an end to the pandemic

From the plagues of medieval Europe to the influenza pandemic of 1918, the specter of the next public health disaster has gripped the minds of scientists, captivated the imaginations of writers and vexed conspiracy theorists.

1 Apr 2020

Will 'old faithful' tuberculosis BCG vaccine work against COVID?

All over the world, except in China, the place where it all began, the COVID-19 pandemic is making its relentless way through the population. So far, it has caused nearly 34,000 deaths – and the situation in the US is still worsening with over 142,000 cases and 2,489 deaths. In Australia, the number of cases has climbed to 4,093, with 16 fatalities.

29 Mar 2020

Murdoch Children's Research Institute to roll-out clinical trial of BCG vaccine against COVID-19

Professor Kathryn North AC, Director of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, has announced its infectious disease researchers are preparing to roll-out a multi-center randomized controlled clinical trial of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19.

26 Mar 2020