A viewpoint has emerged suggesting that childhood BCG vaccinations may be effective in the prevention of novel coronavirus infections.
BCG is a vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis and contains the weakened tuberculosis bacteria of cattle.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is common in developing countries but rare in Europe and North America and vaccination is widely used in countries with many patients.
In Japan, the practice of BCG vaccination has long been exercised resulting in a mostly vaccinated population with some even having the vaccination mark on their upper arm. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is currently recommending BCG vaccination at 5-8 months of age.
BCG is being closely watched at the moment as the death rate of the novel coronavirus tends to be low in countries where BCG is recommended. As of Sunday, the number of deaths per million people was high in non-BCG-vaccinated countries and regions, with 845 in Belgium, 580 in Italy and 432 in the United States, while the figure is low in countries and regions that require it, with eight in Japan, three in China, and 0.3 in Taiwan. In the Netherlands and Australia, clinical trials have begun to study the effectiveness of BCG against the novel coronavirus.
However, when a BCG vaccination is performed and the length of its duration differs depending on the country. Therefore a team from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and other facilities statistically adjusted the differences among countries and analyzed the results. The findings released in July stated that countries with longer BCG vaccination periods and higher vaccination rates had fewer deaths.
It has been reported that BCG vaccination in childhood reduces the incidences of various respiratory infections other than tuberculosis, and blood poisoning. For reasons unknown, it has been hypothesized that BCG, which contains live bacteria, stimulates the body's natural "innate immunity" defenses to quickly respond to pathogen invasions.
Even so, these statistics and assumptions alone do not lead to any scientific conclusions that BCG can prevent novel coronavirus infections. Whether the vaccination can actually prevent the diseases from worsening cannot be determined without the results of more rigorous clinical trials.
As for adult vaccinations, it is not even known if they are safe, let alone if they prevent infections with the novel coronavirus. For the sake of the large number of babies who require BCG vaccines to prevent tuberculosis, it is advised that adults don't undergo BCG vaccinations for the purposes of preventing coronavirus infections.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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