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[3] Tuberculosis vaccine to be used against Coronavirus
Date: Fri 20 Mar 2020
Source: Berliner [[in German, machine trans., edited]
<https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/gesundheit-oekologie/tuberkulose-impfstoff-soll-
Gegen-corona-einsesetzt-werden-li.79094>


The course of the corona pandemic depends heavily on how quickly drugs
or vaccines against the new coronavirus can be developed. But a
vaccine is a long time coming. Although 47 projects are under way
worldwide, it can no longer be expected this year [2020]. The test and
approval procedures take too long before a vaccine is really so safe
and effective that it can be used on millions of people. German
researchers now want to bridge the time and try to protect
particularly vulnerable people, with a vaccine against tuberculosis.

BCG based vaccine
-----------------
The vaccine is called VPM1002 and was developed by scientists from the
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin. In a large-scale
study, several clinics in Germany are to test whether the tuberculosis
vaccine also works against Covid-19. This has been announced by the
Max Planck Society (MPG).

In particular, older people and healthcare workers should be
vaccinated. The vaccine "could thus help to bridge the time until a
vaccine that is specifically effective against SARS-Co-Virus 2",
according to the MPG announcement.

The vaccine is based on another vaccine, BCG, that was developed in
the early 20th century. "Studies in mice show that the BCG vaccine can
not only protect against tuberculosis, but also against viral
infections of the respiratory tract," says the MPG. Mice suffering
from flu have fewer influenza A viruses in their blood if previously
vaccinated with BCG and show less damage to the lungs.

There are indications from the Netherlands and Great Britain that BCG
could also help against the new coronavirus. Vaccination apparently
activates the immune system against a viral infection. As a result,
the vaccine reduces the risk of serious illnesses and lowers the death
rate.

Researchers hope vaccine will alleviate symptoms
------------------------------------------------
The new vaccine was developed at the Max Planck Institute for
Infection Biology in Berlin, based on the old BCG vaccine. According
to the researchers, it contains weakened tuberculosis-like bacteria.
These are genetically modified so that immune cells can recognize them
better. The vaccine is safer and more effective than the old one and
should therefore be used in newborns and to refresh a vaccination in
adults.

The researchers hope that the new vaccine will be able to alleviate
the symptoms of infection with the novel coronavirus. In addition, it
can be manufactured using the latest production methods, said Adar C
Poonawalla, the manufacturer and managing director of Serum Institute
of India. "Millions of cans could be made available in a very short
time."

According to its own statements, the Max Planck Society granted the
license for the vaccine to the biotechnology company Vakzine Projekt
Management (VPM) in Hanover in 2004. From 2012, the company continued
to develop the vaccine together with the Serum Institute of India, one
of the largest vaccine manufacturers worldwide. The partners have had
"promising talks with the authorities" to conduct a so-called phase
III study in Germany with the vaccine VPM1002 and to investigate the
effectiveness of the vaccine in older people and healthcare workers,
said MPG.

"These populations are particularly affected by the current pandemic,"
said Leander Grode, VPM's managing director. They could therefore
particularly benefit from vaccination. If the result is positive, the
vaccine could help relieve the burden on health systems until a
specific vaccine is available.

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communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka

[BCG, the live attenuated vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), is one of
the world's most widely used vaccines and continues to be the only
vaccine used to prevent TB. It contains an attenuated strain of the
bovine tubercle bacillus _Mycobacterium bovis_ and was first
introduced in humans in 1921. BCG is used to induce immunity against
TB and is part of the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Expanded
Program on Immunization (EPI) with more than 100 million children
vaccinated with BCG every year. Universal vaccination at birth with a
single dose of BCG is recommended in developing countries where TB is
highly endemic or where there is high risk of exposure to TB. Because
of the declining incidence of TB in Europe and the United States, BCG
immunization is mostly recommended for high-risk groups in these
regions. A database of global BCG vaccination policies and practices
can be found online. Epidemiologic studies have linked early life BCG
immunization to an unanticipated reduction (approx. 50%) in all-cause
mortality, which greatly exceeds a reduction in mortality attributable
to TB. These observations suggest BCG induces heterologous protection
against antigenically diverse, unrelated pathogens. One of the
suggested mechanisms for heterologous protection against infection in
the context of BCG vaccination is innate immune memory, also known as
"trained immunity"
<https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00332/full>.
These observations are quite interesting and perhaps may boost
protective immunity against COVID-19. - Mod.UBA]

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