Fighting COVID-19: ICMR To Carry Out Study If BCG Vaccine Can Prevent Coronavirus

New Delhi: As scientists the world over are looking to find a vaccine for novel coronavirus the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said it will study if the BCG vaccine can prevent COVID-19.

“The ICMR will begin a study next week. Till we have definitive results from this, we won’t recommend it for anyone,” head of epidemiology and communicable disease, Dr RR Gangakhedkar, was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

If the results are favourable, the Union Health Ministry can recommended it to frontline healthcare workers who are working day and night to help cure infected patients.

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine primarily used for tuberculosis.

“We do not have evidence to take an official position on the BCG vaccine in COVID-19. It cannot even stop TB, but can only protect from severity. It probably stops meningitis — so it is partial protection. There are some studies that show that it is an immunomodulator,” Dr Gangakhedkar explained.

The vaccine is administered at birth and is generally effective for 15 years.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said recently that there was no evidence yet to show that BCG vaccine would be effective in preventing COVID-19 infections.