New Study Suggests Compulsory BCG Vaccination May Help Slow Spread of COVID-19
A new study proposes that nations that mandated Bacillus Calmette-Guerin or BCG vaccination, at least up to the year 2000, appear to have developed a degree of "herd immunity" in contrast to COVID-19.
This new research also indicates that there would have been roughly 80 percent fewer mortality rates in the United States by the end of March 2020 if the nation had implemented the mandatory BCG vaccination since the said year.
The number of such deaths in the U.S., as of March 29, according to the study's researchers, was 2,467. However, the figure would have been smaller at "468 with mandatory vaccination."
The scientists, all from the University of Michigan, had their research findings published in the journal Science Advances.
ALSO READ: Lab-Propagated Virus Imitates the Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2
BCG Vaccination
BCG vaccine is typically administered at birth or during childhood for protection from tuberculosis. However, evidence also showed that the same vaccine shields from other respiratory inflammations, as well as lung cancer.
Additionally, BCG is an efficient cure for some bladder cancer types. A 2018 study showed that the BCG vaccine appeared to have the immune cells reprogrammed for more production of a specific immune signaling molecule.
Past studies have also discussed the association between BCG vaccination and slower COVID-19 spread in global populations.
However, they did not succeed in accounting for nationwide disparities in the availability of tests, not to mention, reporting of data.
Flattening the Curve
For every country, the scientists concentrated in a 30-day course following the first 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases, or the first mortality.
As long as any nationwide discrepancies in reporting stayed steady during the one-month course, researchers elaborated that there is a need to remove the impact of such partiality on the data.
In their assessment, the researchers tried to account for other factors that could have impacted the confirmed cases of the said infectious disease, as well as mortalities in different countries.
Such factors included the populations' median age, density, and size, as well as the gross domestic product per capita.
Scientists also discovered that mandating BCG vaccination considerably "flattened the curve" of the initial COVID-19 spread throughout the population included in the study.
DON'T MISS THIS: Britain Wins Rare Compliment for Its Leadership in the Race for Life-Saving COVID-19 Drug Test
What is 'Herd Immunity'?
BCG vaccine was first administered roughly a century ago when TB posed a major danger to public health.
Several countries, including Ireland, France, and China, had universal BCG vaccination, whereas other countries like the U.S., Lebanon, and Italy never mandated it.
Interestingly, this new study discovered that COVID-19 had spread just as fast in the countries that just made the BCG vaccine compulsory in the last two decades as it did in nations where it was never a requirement.
Furthermore, scientists explained that the same research proposes that a considerable amount of the population needs to be protected by the administration of the vaccine for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 easily. Such an impact is also known as "herd immunity."
Protection Against the Future Spread of the Pandemic
The latest research findings have contributed to the evidence that extensive BCG vaccination of both adults and children could shield people against the future outbreaks of COVID-19.
In Australia, a clinical test is ongoing to determine if the vaccine indeed shields medical staff in healthcare facilities from the contagion that leads to such a disease.
Assuming that tests like this prove the safety and effectiveness against the said infectious disease, the question stays whether vaccine for administration in a wider populace needs to be mandatory.
Researchers note that people may reportedly be "tempted to a 'free ride' and not receive the vaccine" if they believe they'd get protection through herd immunity.
In the end, the lack of mandatory vaccination, attaining herd immunity, will rely on enough people who choose to receive the vaccine for a more extensive "public good."
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS: Hydroxychloroquine, With or Without Azithromycin, Not Contributing to COVID-19 Treatment, Study Finds
Aug 06, 2020 07:50 AM EDT
