Ghina Rizwan*, Rabia Masood, Zarnab Rizwan, Ismail Mujtaba, Salman Farooqi, Nadia Zaib and Amara Butt
Background: A new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The SARSCoV- 2 spread very rapidly, causing a global pandemic, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A few pharmaceutical companies and pathologists have been trying to come up with a cure in the form of a vaccine but in vain. It has been seen that universal BCG vaccination has been effective in prevention from and to reduce severity of COVID-19.
Materials and methods: A pilot study was conducted on Pakistani population using an online survey. A questionnaire acquiring data regarding BCG vaccination and COVID-19 status and symptoms experienced was generated using Google forms. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23. Simple descriptive analysis was conducted to access the correlation between universal BCG vaccination and COVID-19.
Results: This pilot study consisted of 50 participants who were suffering or had suffered from COVID-19, 39 of which were BCG vaccinated. Statistical analysis revealed that there is no significant correlation between universal BCG vaccination and COVID-19.
Conclusion: Universal BCG vaccination has shown to have no significant impact on COVID-19. Further research including a bigger sample size is needed to support or decline this finding.