Recently, NYIT biomedical researchers published that the mortality rate of coronavirus varies significantly between countries under the mandatory BCG vaccination policy and countries that have never been introduced the BCG. The study showed that the average number of corona deaths in 55 BCG administered countries was 0.78 per 1 million population while in 5 countries without a BCG vaccination policy, including Italy and USA, had 16.39 deaths per 1 million population. Hence, the study confirmed that the mortality rate is about 21 times different and seems to be lower in countries with a longer period of vaccination. 

BCG refers to a childhood tuberculosis vaccination that provides immunity against TB, mainly offered to babies up to 1 year old. Studies have further suggested that BCG strengthens the immune system, therefore it can help fight against other respiratory infections as well. As a result, this might have led the researchers to suggest the correlation between the BCG vaccination and the deadly coronavirus attacking the whole world. 

The most effective way to determine this likely relationship is to physically test the effect of BCG on those who are infected by the virus. Therefore, at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, researchers will begin an experiment with 4000 Australian medical staff in a way that only half of them will be vaccinated with the BCG. Then, the blood samples of all the participants will be collected before and after the 6 month experiment and will determine the effectiveness of the BCG vaccine by looking at how many participants were infected by the coronavirus.

If the correlation between the BCG and the mortality rate of the coronavirus is eventually proven, BCG vaccination might act as a new tool to fight against this global endemic. 

By YooJin Cheong , LEHS