World Health Organization (WHO) cautious of using BCG vaccine for COVID-19
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Health
In News:
The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted a few critical issues over the use of BCG vaccine for COVID-19 recently.
They emphasized the importance of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of the vaccine to understand its safety and efficacy before using it on healthcare workers.
Key takeaways:
Randomised controlled trials using BCG vaccine are under way in the Netherlands and Australia to find out whether the vaccine can reduce the incidence and severity of COVID-19 among healthcare workers.
The reasons as to why countries should wait for the results of the BCG vaccine RCTs are:
The association of fewer COVID-19 cases in countries that have a universal BCG vaccination programme is based on population rather than individual data.
The beneficial effects of the BCG vaccine given at birth are “unlikely” to reduce the severity of COVID-19 decades later.
It is already known that the virus induces cytokine storm in some patients, leading to further complications — and even death.
BCG vaccination is likely to give a false sense of security to people, especially during the pandemic, especially if it is not effective against the novel coronavirus.
Using the vaccine without evidence of its benefits could further decrease vaccine supply to protect children against TB in high-risk countries.
Important value additions:
Randomised controlled trials
These are quantitative, comparative, controlled experiments in which investigators study two or more interventions in a series of individuals who receive them in random order.
The RCT is one of the simplest and most powerful tools in clinical research.
BCG vaccine
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is used against tuberculosis (TB).
In countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recommended in healthy babies at the time of birth.
Cytokine storm syndrome (CSS)
It is a form of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) that can be triggered by a variety of factors such as infections and certain drugs.
It occurs when large numbers of white blood cells are activated and release inflammatory cytokines, which in turn activate yet more white blood cells.
