Tuberculosis vaccine does not protect elderly against COVID-19, finds large Dutch study

The tuberculosis vaccine (or BCG vaccine) does not protect the elderly with co-morbidities against disease symptoms caused by a coronavirus infection. This was reported in the BCG-PRIME study which was initiated during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when no vaccines against the virus were available. As a collaborative effort, the study was designed and conducted in a very short time in 20 Dutch hospitals led by UMC Utrecht. After the main findings were released in 2021, the full results of the study were published this week in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.