Using BCG vaccination to protect against COVID-19: when reality fails to meet expectation

While anticipating the development of a COVID-19-specific vaccine, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) explored the potential of BCG vaccination to protect against COVID-19, based on trials demonstrating beneficial effects of BCG vaccination on unrelated infections and all-cause mortality in...

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Published inNature reviews. Immunology Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 83 - 84
Main Authors Pittet, Laure F, Noble, Christie C A, Messina, Nicole L, Curtis, Nigel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Nature Publishing Group 01.02.2024
Subjects
Absenteeism
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine
BCG
BCG Vaccine - therapeutic use
Clinical trials
COVID-19
COVID-19 - prevention & control
COVID-19 vaccines
Diabetes
Disease transmission
Health care
Humans
Immunology
Infections
Infectious diseases
Measles
Medical personnel
Mortality
Motivation
Neonates
Older people
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Vaccination
Vaccines
Workers
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Summary:While anticipating the development of a COVID-19-specific vaccine, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) explored the potential of BCG vaccination to protect against COVID-19, based on trials demonstrating beneficial effects of BCG vaccination on unrelated infections and all-cause mortality in neonates in high-mortality geographical settings. Results are now available from 12 RCTs, which suggest that BCG vaccination is not an effective intervention against COVID-19. That the BCG–COVID-19 trials failed to meet expectation emphasizes the importance of rigorous clinical trials to validate hypotheses, even in urgent situations such as a pandemic.
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ISSN:1474-1733
1474-1741
DOI:10.1038/s41577-024-00992-z