The Indian Medical Research Council-National Institute for Tuberculosis Research (ICMR-NIRT) has introduced a multicenter test to see if the TB vaccine, Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG), can decrease the severity of Covid-19 in other elderly people 60 and above living in hot spots for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, said Saturday from the Ministry of Health.
The test will involve approximately 1,000 healthy volunteers over the age of 60 in six states that have so far reported a maximum burden of Covid-19 disease. “There is a lot of communication about the protective effect of the BCG vaccine as opposed to Covid-19. This exam has been in progress for some time and we now have the process. This is done to generate specific evidence from India,” said one ICMR official, who did not want to be identified.
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The cheap and widely used BCG vaccine, which protects tuberculosis as opposed to formative years, can also save serious infections and deaths in some Covid-19 patients, concluded two recently published peer-reviewed studies. One of the studies conducted by researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (JNU). The time of the examination conducted in the United States published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He also connected the BCG vaccine with relief in Covid-19 deaths.
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi are the states where ICMR-NIRT examines the planned plan and where the verification subjects will be selected. The review will be conducted in collaboration with Greater Chennai Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Department of Public Health.
The test will determine whether the BCG vaccine can save you from the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its progression and deaths related to Covid-19 in the elderly population. The test will use the BCG vaccine given to newborns under the national immunization program for more than 50 years in the country.
The pre-established criteria will be the eligibility of a volunteer to participate in the exam and the approximately 1,000 participants registered for the exam will be monitored for six months after vaccination.
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“Those who have been vaccinated with BCG, not only in India but also in other countries, are more protected than those who have not been [vaccinated],” this knowledge research shows for countries with more than 1,000 cases reported. We believe that the immune reaction mediated by BCG would help decrease the onset and severity of the infection,” said Gobardhan Das, writer of JNU study. Das is the president of the JNU Center for Molecular Medicine.
Around 100 million children around the world get the BCG vaccine annually. In India, BCG vaccination of children began in 1949. The vaccine protects against disseminated tuberculosis and meningitis in childhood. But it does not offer protection from adult pulmonary tuberculosis, which has led to several countries discontinuing its use.
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