Is being vaccinated with BCG protective for COVID-19?
Is being vaccinated with BCG protective for COVID-19?
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Multiple studies are exploring the link between BCG vaccination policies in various countries, and the relatively lower number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in those countries. Recent studies published do not support the idea that BCG vaccination in childhood is a cause of protection against COVID-19 in adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a note on this topic that stated that in the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) noted that after they accounted for differences in variables like income, age distribution, and access to health services, countries with higher BCG vaccination rates had lower peak mortality rates from COVID-19. However, though there is an association between BCG vaccination and reduced severity of COVID-19 observed in this epidemiological study, it does not mean that there is enough evidence to consider BCG vaccination a cause of protection from severe COVID-19. More studies are underway. _This entry was updated with new information on July 11, 2020_
Multiple studies are exploring the link between BCG vaccination policies in various countries, and the relatively lower number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in those countries. Recent studies published do not support the idea that BCG vaccination in childhood is a cause of protection against COVID-19 in adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a note on this topic that stated that in the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) noted that after they accounted for differences in variables like income, age distribution, and access to health services, countries with higher BCG vaccination rates had lower peak mortality rates from COVID-19. However, though there is an association between BCG vaccination and reduced severity of COVID-19 observed in this epidemiological study, it does not mean that there is enough evidence to consider BCG vaccination a cause of protection from severe COVID-19. More studies are underway. _This entry was updated with new information on July 11, 2020_
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What our experts say
Multiple studies are exploring the link between BCG vaccination policies in various countries, and the relatively lower number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in those countries. Recent studies published do not support the idea that BCG vaccination in childhood is a cause of protection against COVID-19 in adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a note on this topic that stated that in the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) noted that after they accounted for differences in variables like income, age distribution, and access to health services, countries with higher BCG vaccination rates had lower peak mortality rates from COVID-19. However, though there is an association between BCG vaccination and reduced severity of COVID-19 observed in this epidemiological study, it does not mean that there is enough evidence to consider BCG vaccination a cause of protection from severe COVID-19. More studies are underway.
This entry was updated with new information on July 11, 2020
Multiple studies are exploring the link between BCG vaccination policies in various countries, and the relatively lower number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in those countries. Recent studies published do not support the idea that BCG vaccination in childhood is a cause of protection against COVID-19 in adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a note on this topic that stated that in the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) noted that after they accounted for differences in variables like income, age distribution, and access to health services, countries with higher BCG vaccination rates had lower peak mortality rates from COVID-19. However, though there is an association between BCG vaccination and reduced severity of COVID-19 observed in this epidemiological study, it does not mean that there is enough evidence to consider BCG vaccination a cause of protection from severe COVID-19. More studies are underway.
This entry was updated with new information on July 11, 2020
Context and background
The BGC vaccine, or the bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. This vaccine is used in many countries that have high rates of tuberculosis in order to prevent the disease from spreading. As public health researchers try and understand the low case numbers and death count in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South-East Asia from COVID-19, hypotheses have emerged about the protective power of the BCG vaccine against the coronavirus because of a correlation between countries where the BCG vaccine is widely used and the low number of COVID-19 cases reported in those countries. Recent studies published on this topic do not support the idea that BCG vaccination in childhood has a protective effect against COVID-19 in adulthood. More studies are underway as it's still not clear yet how the BCG vaccine interacts with the virus that causes COVID-19.
The BGC vaccine, or the bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. This vaccine is used in many countries that have high rates of tuberculosis in order to prevent the disease from spreading. As public health researchers try and understand the low case numbers and death count in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South-East Asia from COVID-19, hypotheses have emerged about the protective power of the BCG vaccine against the coronavirus because of a correlation between countries where the BCG vaccine is widely used and the low number of COVID-19 cases reported in those countries. Recent studies published on this topic do not support the idea that BCG vaccination in childhood has a protective effect against COVID-19 in adulthood. More studies are underway as it's still not clear yet how the BCG vaccine interacts with the virus that causes COVID-19.
