⁍ The World Health Organization has cautioned against the use of the BCG vaccine for coronavirus until more is known.
⁍ Researchers found a strong correlation between BCG vaccination use and lowered Covid-19 mortality rates.
⁍ Initial clinical trials overseas are currently focused on health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus fight.

– A potential new weapon in the war against coronavirus: the tuberculosis vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. Researchers have found a correlation between the use of the BCG vaccine and lower mortality rates in countries that have universal vaccination programs, reports the New York Times. “What distinguishes our work is that we were very careful in removing variables,” a researcher with the National Institutes of Health tells CNN. “When we removed them, if this was not true, the association should have disappeared. Instead of disappearing, it became stronger and stronger—more straightforward.” The World Health Organization has cautioned against using the BCG vaccine for coronavirus until more is known, but teams around the world are studying the possibility it may help. More than 100 years old, the BCG vaccine is used in many countries, not including the US, and has been associated with reduced overall mortality rates in infants and children. There is strong evidence to suggest that the vaccine provides nonspecific immunity—protection beyond tuberculosis. The vaccine’s effects on adults have been inconsistent. Other researchers have suggested that vaccines for polio and measles, mumps, and rubella, may provide similar protections against lethal infections, including coronavirus. Initial clinical trials overseas are currently focused on health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus fight.