While the development of a vaccine specifically targeted against the coronavirus will still take months, several studies are verifying the possible protective effects of the tuberculosis vaccine.
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"We have known for decades that BCG has non-specific beneficial effects" , that is to say that it protects against diseases other than the one for which it was created, tuberculosis, explains to AFP Camille Locht, Inserm research director at the Institut Pasteur in Lille.
Children vaccinated with BCG suffer less from other respiratory illnesses, it is used to treat certain bladder cancers and it could protect against asthma and autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes. The hypothesis is that the TB vaccine could have a similar effect against the coronavirus, either by reducing the risk of getting infected or by limiting the severity of the symptoms. Health professionals are "the first target who should benefit from this approach" , judges Camille Locht, who is finalizing the protocol for a clinical trial for France, because they are among "people most at risk of developing the disease" and they must be protected first.
However, the researchers remain cautious before claiming that BCG has a shield effect against the coronavirus. "This is precisely the reason for this research," insists Mihai Netea, professor of experimental medicine at the Radboud University Medical Center (Nijmegen), who announced two weeks ago the launch of a clinical trial with the University of Utrecht, involving 1,000 health professionals (500 will receive the vaccine and 500, a placebo). "If there are fewer people in the BCG vaccine group who have to stop work because of the disease, it will be an encouraging result , " added this renowned specialist in "trained immunity".
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