What is the evidence that BCG vaccination inhibits infection with the Covid-19 virus or mitigates the effects of the virus?
The authors of an academic paper, which hasn’t been peer reviewed, claim that there is a correlation between Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination and the extent to which countries are affected by Covid-19. BCG is a tuberculosis vaccine.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, a clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist who advises the South African government on Covid-19, described the finding as “fundamentally flawed” because the authors compared the situation in different countries at different points in their respective epidemics.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no evidence that BCG protects people against Covid-19. “Two clinical trials addressing this question are under way, and WHO will evaluate the evidence when it is available. In the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of Covid-19.”