TB vaccine trial attracting huge interest

Prof Mihai Netea A new clinical trial investigating whether a vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) can give healthcare workers some protection against the coronavirus is being expanded due to the huge interest in signing up already, according to one of the study’s lead investigators. As previously reported by EuroTimes, in the Netherlands, universities Radboudumc and UMC Utrecht are working together on a study where half of the selected healthcare workers (doctors and nurses) in the trial will receive the BCG vaccine, and the other half a placebo. While the BCG vaccine does not directly protect against COVID-19, it provides a boost to the immune system, which can last up to two years. Moreover, the BCG vaccine has already been shown to provide some protection against respiratory tract infections such as influenza in previous studies involving mouse models, children and the elderly, which may lead to improved protection against developing COVID-19 and a milder infection Prof Mihai Netea, Professor of experimental internal medicine at Radboudumc, explained to EuroTimes. The trial was originally supposed to involve 1,000 healthcare workers but this is now being expanded by another 500 participants to a total of 1,500, and potentially more due to the huge interest in taking part, he said. “Already over 600 of the study participants have been vaccinated with 1,000 to be reached by the end of this week.” This larger sample size should help in potentially being able to assess the vaccine’s impact earlier, Prof Netea believes. “While there has been a very good response from those who want to take part in the study, we have also been contacted by other countries including Melbourne, the UK, Germany and Denmark who have already started carrying out or who are planning similar studies,” he added. It is hard to predict how long this BCG vaccine trial will go on for, as it depends on the how the pandemic evolves and how many people are infected with COVID-19, Prof Netea noted. However, it is an open-ended design and if there is a significant difference in the response to COVID-19 of the healthcare workers who receive the vaccine “it can be stopped immediately so that everyone can get the vaccine to get the advantages of it if there is a positive effect”. In addition, Prof Netea said that they also hope to commence a similar trial in the elderly population, as they are also at high risk of more serious disease and negative outcomes if they contract COVID-19. “So we should know in the coming months if this approach has the chance to be successful and if it is successful if it can help us or not.”  

Tags: covid-19 tb vaccine