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More evidence emerges that a TB vaccine might help fight coronavirus - CNN
Jul 10, 2020 1 min, 19 secs
Researchers found that countries where many people have been given the vaccine have had less mortality from Covid-19.

While that doesn't mean that BCG somehow reduces the risk of severe illness form a coronavirus infection, it fits in with other research that suggests BCG can boost people's immunity in general, and perhaps help against the coronavirus.

The World Health Organization has cautioned against the use of the BCG vaccine for coronavirus until more is known, but teams around the world are studying the possibility it may help.

Luis Escobar of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and colleagues used existing data to explore whether countries without a national BCG vaccination program have greater coronavirus mortality rates.

It's not enough to show for sure the BCG vaccine somehow protected people against coronavirus.

More than 100 years old, the BCG vaccine is used in many countries, not including the United States, and has been associated with reduced overall mortality rates in infants and children.

Denise Faustman, director of immunobiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, hopes to begin clinical trials with her team in Boston as soon as possible.

Faustman has studied the off-target effects of the BCG vaccine for years.

"The signal is really pretty strong that countries with prior BCG vaccination have protection from incidence and mortality," said Faustman, who added that there's even a possibility that the BCG vaccine could boost the efficacy of a coronavirus-specific vaccine, once its created.

If the BCG vaccine's protection against coronavirus severity bears out with further research, it could have significant public health implications.

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