The debate over the anti-tuberculosis vaccine’s ability to protect against Covid-19 got a fresh lease with an American research paper stating that the BCG ‘slows down’ the infection’s spread within the community—at least in the first 30 days.

The paper published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed medical journal brought out by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said that countries with mandatory Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination showed “slower infection and death rates” during the first 30 days of the Covid-19 outbreak in their country.
It is known that the BCG vaccination given to babies within 15 days of birth to prevent TB, strengthens immunity against other infectious diseases too.

Ever since Covid-19 emerged eight months back, there has been a lot of discussion about BCG’s ability to protect against novel coronavirus as well.

The US study analysed the day-by-day rate of increase of confirmed Covid cases in 135 countries and deaths in 134 countries in the first 30-day period of each country’s outbreak.

The state government is carrying out a clinical trial to check the efficacy of the BCG vaccine in reducing morbidity among Covid-19 patients. “The trial has 250 Covid patients who were treated in 18 medical colleges of the state. An answer should be available within the next two to three months,” he added.

Source: Times Of India

BDST: 1655 HRS, AUG 02, 2020
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