UK Study Testing if BCG Vaccine, The One Most of Us Have, Can Protect Against COVID-19

Remember when you were a kid and your teacher said everyone had to get a long-ass needle jabbed into their arm?

You had to change your pants twice that day, and every minute seemed like a decade.

But it was a necessary immunisation that every child had to go through, no matter how much they hated needles.

In the end, the pain wasn’t as bad as you thought, even though you had to change your pants a third time.

And if it ends up protecting you against Covid-19, all that pain and pants changing will have been worth it.

UK Study Testing if BCG Vaccine Can Protect Against COVID-19

The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, used to protect against tuberculosis, will be tested on frontline workers in Britain as a protection against Covid-19.

This is because the vaccine has been observed to boost the immune system in a general way.

Besides providing immunity against tuberculosis, it has also been shown to protect against respiratory illnesses or infections, according to Reuters.

So, while a Covid-19 vaccine is still in the works, researchers in the UK are trying to determine if it protects people against the coronavirus.

“If it does, we could save lives by administering or topping up this readily available and cost-effective vaccination,” said  Professor John Campbell, from the University of Exeter Medical School.

Researchers in the trial are reportedly looking to recruit 1,000 people who work in care homes and community healthcare.

The BCG vaccine is also being tested as protection against Covid-19 in South Africa.

Most of Us Already Have It

While you may not have gotten it while you were older, you almost definitely received the BCG vaccine as a baby.

The BCG vaccination was introduced in the 1950s in Singapore as part of the childhood immunisation programme, according to the Ministry of Health.

All newborns were vaccinated at birth and although parental consent is required, the acceptance rate has been close to 100% in the last decade.

Before 2001, the BCG vaccine was administered twice – once at birth and again at age 12.

However, the BCG revaccination was discontinued in 2001, and so Singaporeans only get it once now – at birth.

MOH reported that 97% of babies have been administered the BCG vaccine annually since 1987, so unless your parents were dead against vaccines for whatever reason, you probably already have it in your system.

Whether it can actually protect against the coronavirus, however, remains to be seen.

Moreover, this is not a long-term solution, and a Covid-19 vaccine will still need to be developed.

China Vaccine Appears Safe

The good news is of the several experimental Covid-19 vaccines which are currently being administered, at least one appears safe.

A vaccine developed by the Institute of Medical Biology under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has been shown to induce an immune response, and appears to be safe.

The most common side effects of the vaccine include mild pain, slight fatigue, and redness, and itching and swelling at the injection site, reported Reuters.

China has already given other experimental vaccines to hundreds of thousands of essential workers and other high-risk groups.

However, clinical trials for these vaccines have not been completed, which is why some experts have raised concerns about its use.

Conversely, MOH said any vaccine that is brought to Singapore will be safe, meaning that it has to complete clinical trials and have its effects analysed before it can be made readily available across the country.

When that will happen, though, no one knows.