Century-Old Tuberculosis Vaccine Eyed in Fight Against Coronavirus

A century-old tuberculosis vaccine could protect health care workers from the coronavirus, according to a report. Some 4,000 health workers in hospitals across Australia will be administered the bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or BCG vaccine, as part of a six-month trial set to begin Monday, Bloomberg reported.

Researchers at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne will be probing whether the vaccine — which has been widely used for about 100 years — can reduce COVID-19 symptoms. “Although originally developed against tuberculosis, and still given to over 130 million babies annually for that purpose, BCG also boosts humans’ ‘frontline’ immunity, training it to respond to germs with greater intensity,” researchers said in a statement.