South Africa has begun clinical trials in the city of Cape Town on Monday to measure the protective effects of BCG against the novel coronavirus.
Created in 1921, the BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine officially protects against tuberculosis.
However, some researchers have shown that this vaccine, which is one of the cheapest in the world, could eventually combat the new coronavirus (Covid-19).
South Africa, one of the African countries worst blighted by the pandemic, has decided to carry out tests to measure the impact of BCG against Covid-19.
“The clinical trial has started, we vaccinated the first participants this morning,” Duncan McDonald, an official from the medical research organization TASK, which is conducting the experiment, told AFP.
The trial – in which 250 caregivers will receive a BCG injection and another 250 will receive a placebo – is being conducted at Tygerberg Hospital under the direction of Prof. Andreas Diacon, the head of TASK.
“Some observations suggest that BCG has effects on the immune system that we don’t yet fully understand, such as strengthening it against respiratory infections,” Prof. Diacon told AFP.
Studies have shown that children immunized with BCG have fewer respiratory illnesses. Other work suggests that it may protect against asthma and autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
Scientists are seeking to demonstrate that it could have similar beneficial effects against coronavirus.
“If it were possible to reduce the symptoms of this Covid-19 epidemic just a little, it would increase the chances of survival, avoid hospitalization and even illness,” he said.
If the results of the ongoing trials around the world prove conclusive, the BCG vaccine could rid the world of the coronavirus pandemic.
CD/lb/as/APA