On Monday, a study published in the journal Cell Reports revealed that a widely used vaccine for tuberculosis had protected individuals with Type 1 diabetes against COVID-19. According to the study conducted on 144 patients with type 1 diabetes at the start of the pandemic, multiple doses of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) were found to be preventive against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.

The study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), US, showed that 12.5% and 1% of placebo-treated subjects and BCG-treated subjects had tested positive for COVID-19 infection, respectively. Thus, the study reported the effectiveness of the vaccine at 92%. Also, the BCG-immunized cohort group showed protective effects against other infectious diseases, such as fewer symptoms of COVID, less severity of infection, and fewer infectious disease events per patient.

The BCG vaccine is an attenuated vaccine developed from the avirulent strain of the tuberculosis-causing pathogen, Mycobacterium bovis. The vaccine is considered to be extremely safe and is listed on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. The vaccine is administered to roughly 100 million children per year globally.

Dr. Denise Faustman, Director of the Immunobiology Laboratory at MGH, stated that multiple studies have shown that individuals with type 1 diabetes who are diagnosed with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of severe illness. But they found that three doses of BCG administered before the start of the pandemic protected against infection and its progression and limited severe symptoms.