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While the frontline healthcare workers are evidently putting their lives at risk every single day, the researchers from Melbourne are advised a 100 years old TB vaccine to these healthcare workers to see if the same can help protect them from the coronavirus.
The bacillus Calmette-Guerin shot has been in practice for over 100 years now for the condition of TB and is more importantly known for its amazing off target benefits. The vaccine has been found effective as a common immunotherapy for combating early stages of bladder cancer but has also been found to help boost the immune system to fight several kinds of infections.
Given the fact that the immunization for the Covid-19 is almost a year away, the World Health Organisation is curious to know whether BCG can pose as an effective shield till then. They want to see whether the same helps the patients infected with coronavirus.
WHO has also been encouraging several of the international groups to come together in this time and collaborate on the study that has been led by Nigel Curtis, who is the head of the infectious diseases research at the Murdoch Children’s Institute in Melbourne.
Curtis further clarified the case study reports stating, “It can boost the immune system so that it defends better against a whole range of different infections, a whole range of different viruses and bacteria in a lot more generalized way.”
Over 4000 hospital staff in Australia has volunteered to be part of the six months trial who will be randomly allocated to be vaccinated starting Monday, March 30, 2020.
The placebo vaccine that has been deduced for this randomised trial won’t work as the control in this case because of the BCG shot has a side effect of leaving behind localised skin scarring, making it obvious for the individuals who have received the TB vaccination.
Similar kind of an approach has been started in Netherlands too.
The TB vaccine is quite inexpensive and is used to vaccinate over 130 million babies every year across the globe. Curtis believes that even though the vaccine is likely to provide a broader frame of protection to the people across the world, their main priority at the moment are the healthcare workers who are at higher risk of contracting the disease.
Highlighting this, Curtis stated saying, “We need to think of every possible way that we can protect healthcare workers. And there’s going to be a particular need to reduce the amount of time that our healthcare workers are absent.”
Several of the conducted studies with BCG in Africa has shown potent results against not just TB but a varying range of pediatric infections. The researchers believe that the same happens by boosting the innate immune system of the body.
The blood samples collected at the start of the trial and the end of the trial will help deduce who contracted the coronavirus and if there were any kinds of symptoms visible during the trial period.
The monitoring team behind the study are going to study the results from this trial after 3 months to further look for any signs of improvement and impacts on the cases.
Assuring the people, Curtis stated saying, “We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think that this might work. We cannot guarantee that this will work. And, of course, the only way to find that out is with this trial.”
By Somapika Dutta
