ArticleClinical & translational immunology2022
Off-target effects of bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2: implications for protection against severe COVID-19.
Article in Clinical & translational immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immune mechanisms mediating the heterologous effects of BCG vaccination: a systematic review.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Pooled it
- Optimising COVID-19 episode identification using serology and PCR/rapid antigen testing: insights from the BRACE trial.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Trial
- BCG vaccination of healthcare workers for protection against COVID-19: 12-month outcomes from an international randomised controlled trial.The Journal of infection · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Randomized Trial of BCG Vaccine to Protect against Covid-19 in Health Care Workers.The New England journal of medicine · 2023Trial
- Impact of vaccine platform and BCG vaccination on antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccination.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Trial
- Introduction to the Immune System.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Unleashing the power of the BCG vaccine in modulating viral immunity through heterologous protection: A scoping review.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Article
- Article
- Review
- Elevated plasma CXCL9 and CHI3L1 prior to HCT predict post-HCT lung complications in children.Clinical & translational immunology · 2025Article
- Effect of Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 vaccination.Clinical & translational immunology · 2025Article
- Article
- Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination to prevent febrile and respiratory illness in adults (BRACE): secondary outcomes of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- The Influence of Cross-Reactive T Cells in COVID-19.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- BCG activation of trained immunity is associated with induction of cross reactive COVID-19 antibodies in a BCG vaccinated population.PloS one · 2024Article
- Bacterial-induced or passively administered interferon gamma conditions the lung for early control of SARS-CoV-2.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Interpreting the Results of Trials of BCG Vaccination for Protection Against COVID-19.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2023Review
- BCG administration promotes the long-term protection afforded by a single-dose intranasal adenovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.iScience · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and objectives: Because of its beneficial off-target effects against non-mycobacterial infectious diseases, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination might be an accessible early intervention to boost protection against novel pathogens. Multiple epidemiological studies and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are investigating the protective effect of BCG against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Using samples from participants in a placebo-controlled RCT aiming to determine whether BCG vaccination reduces the incidence and severity of COVID-19, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of BCG on Methods: This study used peripheral blood taken from participants in the multicentre RCT and BCG vaccination to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers (BRACE trial). The whole blood taken from BRACE trial participants was stimulated with γ-irradiated SARS-CoV-2-infected or mock-infected Vero cell supernatant. Cytokine responses were measured by multiplex cytokine analysis, and single-cell immunophenotyping was made by flow cytometry. Results: BCG vaccination, but not placebo vaccination, reduced SARS-CoV-2-induced secretion of cytokines known to be associated with severe COVID-19, including IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10. In addition, BCG vaccination promoted an effector memory phenotype in both CD4 Conclusions: The immunomodulatory signature of BCG's off-target effects on SARS-CoV-2 is consistent with a protective immune response against severe COVID-19.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.