Coronavirus: Hospital staff on frontline of tuberculosis vaccine trials

WA healthcare workers will test whether BCG vaccination against tuberculosis can reduce their chance of COVID-19 infection.

Dr Shobana Maruthayanar is given a BCG and influenza shot at Perth Children’s Hospital on Tuesday. Picture: Michael Wilson

Some 2000 healthcare workers in Western Australia will help determine whether the existing BCG vaccination against tuberculosis can reduce their chances of COVID-19 infection or lessen the severity of symptoms.

Frontline staff in three of the state’s biggest hospitals will ­receive BCG vaccinations at the same time as getting their annual influenza shot, with the first of about 500 staff at Perth Children’s Hospital lining up on Tuesday.

About 750 staff each from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital also will participate in the randomised clinical trial, which is being led ­nationally by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Victoria. It will recruit another 2000 participants at sites in Melbourne. There are no vaccines or other proven therapeutic interventions available to protect healthcare workers exposed to the coronavirus.

Announcing the trial last month, professor Nigel Curtis from MCRI’s infectious diseases research group said recruiting 4000 healthcare workers from hospitals across Australia was an urgent task. It means WA will provide half of the required frontline workers willing to participate.

The vaccine was originally ­developed against tuberculosis, and is still given to more than 130 million babies annually for that purpose. Professor Curtis said BCG also boosted ‘‘frontline’’ ­immunity, training it to respond to germs with greater intensity.

The Telethon Kids Institute has received $1.5m from the Minderoo Foundation to co-ordinate the Perth trial.

Institute director Jonathan Carapetis said BCG could reduce deaths and rates of respiratory disease in children.