Chennai: Tamilnadu, which is adopting various measures to control the spread of Covid-19 and bring down deaths, has launched a trial to study the efficacy of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine in reducing mortality rate in the elderly.
According to Health Ministr C Vijayabaskar, as ordered by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, the BCG vaccine shall be administered on a trial basis, on adults aged 60-95, with the aim of reducing the COVID mortality rate in this age group.
He added that the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) will start the pilot programme soon. He added that administering BCG vaccine to elders will reduce the virility of Covid-19 and help avoid hospitalization and death.
According to an official statement, elderly people, diabetics and those who high blood pressure and heart ailments were more vulnerable to Covid-19 and the ECG vaccine could bring down the morbidity and mortality rates among them.
It added that BCG vaccine, which was being administered to children under the National Vaccination Programme in the last 50 years, enhanced the innate immunity in people, it has been found.
The study would focus on the vaccine’s potential in reducing morbidity due to Covid-19, preventing hospitalisation, and reducing mortality due to Covid-19 in the aged. It is known that the elderly, persons with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiac diseases are at higher risk for Covid-19.