COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination
Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination, widely used throughout the world to protect against infant tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis (TB), can provide broad non-specific protection against infectious respiratory diseases in certain groups. Interest in BCG has seen a resurgence withi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/10/2120 |
| _version_ | 1797513788649373696 |
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| author | Kent J. Koster Hilary L. Webb Jeffrey D. Cirillo |
| author_facet | Kent J. Koster Hilary L. Webb Jeffrey D. Cirillo |
| author_sort | Kent J. Koster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination, widely used throughout the world to protect against infant tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis (TB), can provide broad non-specific protection against infectious respiratory diseases in certain groups. Interest in BCG has seen a resurgence within the scientific community as the mechanisms for non-specific protection have begun to be elucidated. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nearly every aspect of society has profoundly illustrated the pressure that respiratory infections can place on a national healthcare system, further renewing interest in BCG vaccination as a public health policy to reduce the burden of those illnesses. However, the United States does not recommend BCG vaccination due to its variable effectiveness against adult TB, the relatively low risk of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> infection in most of the United States, and the vaccine’s interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity that complicates TB screening. In this review, we explore the broad immune training effects of BCG vaccination and literature on the effects of BCG vaccination on COVID-19 spread, disease severity, and mortality. We further discuss barriers to scheduled BCG vaccination in the United States and how those barriers could potentially be overcome. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:22:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf1af6ee04314d2faee7d3305d4e0d0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:22:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf1af6ee04314d2faee7d3305d4e0d0e2023-11-22T19:14:37ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072021-10-01910212010.3390/microorganisms9102120COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG VaccinationKent J. Koster0Hilary L. Webb1Jeffrey D. Cirillo2Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX 77807, USADepartment of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX 77807, USADepartment of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX 77807, USABacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination, widely used throughout the world to protect against infant tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis (TB), can provide broad non-specific protection against infectious respiratory diseases in certain groups. Interest in BCG has seen a resurgence within the scientific community as the mechanisms for non-specific protection have begun to be elucidated. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nearly every aspect of society has profoundly illustrated the pressure that respiratory infections can place on a national healthcare system, further renewing interest in BCG vaccination as a public health policy to reduce the burden of those illnesses. However, the United States does not recommend BCG vaccination due to its variable effectiveness against adult TB, the relatively low risk of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> infection in most of the United States, and the vaccine’s interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity that complicates TB screening. In this review, we explore the broad immune training effects of BCG vaccination and literature on the effects of BCG vaccination on COVID-19 spread, disease severity, and mortality. We further discuss barriers to scheduled BCG vaccination in the United States and how those barriers could potentially be overcome.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/10/2120Bacille Calmette–GuérinBCGCOVID-19vaccinepublic health policy |
| spellingShingle | Kent J. Koster Hilary L. Webb Jeffrey D. Cirillo COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination Microorganisms Bacille Calmette–Guérin BCG COVID-19 vaccine public health policy |
| title | COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination |
| title_full | COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination |
| title_short | COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring Public Health Benefits from Non-Specific Effects of BCG Vaccination |
| title_sort | covid 19 and beyond exploring public health benefits from non specific effects of bcg vaccination |
| topic | Bacille Calmette–Guérin BCG COVID-19 vaccine public health policy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/10/2120 |
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