Safety and COVID-19 Symptoms in Individuals Recently Vaccinated with BCG: a Retrospective Cohort Study

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    Author
    Moorlag, SJCFM; van Deuren, RC; van Werkhoven, CH; Jaeger, M; Debisarun, P; Taks, E; Mourits, VP; Koeken, VACM; de Bree, LCJ; ten Doesschate, T; ...
    Date
    2020-08-25
    Source Title
    CELL REPORTS MEDICINE
    Publisher
    ELSEVIER
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Curtis, Richard
    Affiliation
    Paediatrics (RCH)
    Metadata
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    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Moorlag, S. J. C. F. M., van Deuren, R. C., van Werkhoven, C. H., Jaeger, M., Debisarun, P., Taks, E., Mourits, V. P., Koeken, V. A. C. M., de Bree, L. C. J., ten Doesschate, T., Cleophas, M. C., Smeekens, S., Oosting, M., van de Veerdonk, F. L., Joosten, L. A. B., ten Oever, J., van der Meer, J. W. M., Curtis, N., Aaby, P. ,... Netea, M. G. (2020). Safety and COVID-19 Symptoms in Individuals Recently Vaccinated with BCG: a Retrospective Cohort Study. CELL REPORTS MEDICINE, 1 (5), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2020.100073.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/252907
    DOI
    10.1016/j.xcrm.2020.100073
    Open Access at PMC
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7405881
    Abstract
    Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) induces long-term boosting of innate immunity, termed trained immunity, and decreases susceptibility to respiratory tract infections. BCG vaccination trials for reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection are underway, but concerns have been raised regarding the potential harm of strong innate immune responses. To investigate the safety of BCG vaccination, we retrospectively assessed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related symptoms in three cohorts of healthy volunteers who either received BCG in the last 5 years or did not. BCG vaccination is not associated with increased incidence of symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Netherlands. Our data suggest that BCG vaccination might be associated with a decrease in the incidence of sickness during the COVID-19 pandemic (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.58, p < 0.05), and lower incidence of extreme fatigue. In conclusion, recent BCG vaccination is safe, and large randomized trials are needed to reveal if BCG reduces the incidence and/or severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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