TB Vaccine Could Be a Valuable Weapon in COVID-19 Fight

The tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), could be a potential weapon in combatting the deadly coronavirus according to findings published by NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) researchers, led by Gonzalo Otazu, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical sciences.  

The United States currently leads the world in confirmed COVID-19 cases, followed by Italy, per the latest report from Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE). Now NYITCOM researchers propose that the severity of COVID-19 impact may be linked to varying national policies on BCG childhood vaccination.

“We found that countries without universal policies of BCG vaccination, such as Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States have been more severely affected compared to countries with universal and long-standing BCG policies,” the researchers state.

https://www.nyit.edu/box/features/tb_vaccine_could_be_a_valuable_weapon_in_covid_19_fight