A Vaccine Used in India since 1948 May Help Protect from COVID-19

A preliminary study posted on medRxiv, a site for unpublished medical research claims that Countries with mandatory policies to vaccinate against tuberculosis register fewer coronavirus deaths than countries that don’t have those policies. India has a BCG Vaccine mandatory to prevent Tuberculosis.

The countries with the Vaccine in use are showing a fewer number of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19. Researchers in at least six countries are conducting trials of the BCG vaccine for their frontline health workers and elderly people to check it can provide some protection.

BCG – Bacillus Calmette-Guerin was developed in the early 1900s from mycobacterium bovis, a form of tuberculosis that infects cattle. BCG vaccine is part of India’s universal immunization program and administered to millions of children at birth or soon after it.

India is the World’s TB Capital in a way and BCG was made mandatory in 1948. However this claim needs to be backed by extensive clinical studies until a cure or vaccine is ready for the contagious virus, the BCG can be tried with caution, the researchers claim. In India so far, there are over 3000 Coronavirus cases now.