Mumbai’s KEM Hospital submits BCG trial report to ICMR

The King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Parel, which was conducting a clinical trial on the anti-tuberculosis vaccination—Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) on the elderly, has submitted its report to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The biggest civic-run KEM Hospital has been treating the highest number of severely ill Covid-19 patients since the outbreak of the virus in March 2020. ICMR chose the centre in August 2020 to conduct the clinical trial on the BCG vaccine to treat Covid-19 patients. A total of 112 volunteers between the age group of 60 and 75 years have participated in the trial.

In India, BCG vaccination was started in 1949 under the national immunisation programme. The vaccine protects against disseminated tuberculosis and meningitis in childhood. It is an annual vaccination process where it is administered to newborn babies. In the trial, however, the vaccine was used on people above 60 years of age to see if it can stimulate an immune response against Covid-19 among older people.

“We can’t disclose the results of the trial due to the confidentiality protocols of the ethics committee. But we have completed the trial and submitted the reports to ICMR. The good news is, none of the participants has developed any complications after the doses. We have been regularly following up with the participants,” said official seeking anonymity.

Despite repeated attempts, Dr Hemant Deshmukh, dean of the hospital didn’t respond to calls.

Often Covid-19 patients develop inflammatory reactions which lead to the severity of their infection and even death. In this backdrop, doctors believe that BCG vaccination by enhancing innate immune responses may have deleterious effects on novel coronavirus.

“Several researches across the globe have shown a correlation that people who received BCG vaccination, either didn’t contract Covid-19 or those infected didn’t develop severe complications. It is believed that the vaccine has a long-lasting effect on strengthening the immune system,” said Dr Lalit Anande, former medical superintendent of the Sewri TB Hospital.

According to a study—The BCG Vaccine for COVID-19: First Verdict and Future Directions published in March, 2021 on the journal—Frontliners in Immunity, stated, “In situations where no other specific prophylactic tools are available, the BCG vaccine could be used as a potential adjuvant, to decrease sickness of Sars-Cov-2 infection and/or to mitigate the effects of concurrent respiratory infections.” Hindustan Times