To buy us some time before a vaccine is ready we could start using a century old tuberculosis vaccine that appears to have some positive effects when used against COVID-19.
According to The Times of Israel:
“A vaccine that has been in use for almost a century limits the spread and severity of coronavirus, Israeli biologists have claimed after studying data from almost two thirds of the world’s population.
As they champion the bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine, they are going head-to-head with the World Health Organization. They argue that three decades after many countries — Israel included — phased out blanket BCG shots, they should consider restoring them to fight the pandemic.
‘We found that countries with more coverage of BCG in the last 15 years have better outcomes for coronavirus — better death rates and fewer people being infected,’ Nadav Rappoport, a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev computational biologist, told The Times of Israel.
The BCG shot, primarily used to fight tuberculosis, was first given to humans 99 years ago, in July 1921. While the researchers say BCG is not a substitute for a vaccine against COVID-19, they do argue that data shows BCG coverage contributes to the ‘attenuation of the spread and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.’
Co-author Michal Linial of the Hebrew University said that while the WHO has strongly opposed deploying the vaccine against the virus, her team thinks countries that don’t use the BCG should consider doing so immediately. ‘There’s nothing to lose but a lot to gain,’ she said.”
And I couldn’t agree more. If this vaccine could at least help slow the spread of COVID-19 then we should order BCG shots for everyone. Before it’s too late.
Is using the BCG Vaccine the Greatest Idea Ever?
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