FILE
Senior citizens in Tamil Nadu will be administered Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine in reducing morbidity and mortality due to coronavirus. Ordered by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Palaniswami, the BCG vaccine will be administered on a trial basis, on adults aged between 60-95.
Sanction has been accorded to a trial by the Indian Council of Medical Research's tuberculosis institute here to study the efficacy of BCG vaccine in the elderly in the fight against COVID-19.
The objective of the multi-centric study, in which elderly people not affected by coronavirus are vaccinated, is to see whether this immunisation drive reduces mortality rate and helps cut down COVID-19 incidence.
Following the vaccination, those immunised would be followed up and if some of them get infected with coronavirus, it would be assessed if the BCG vaccination stood them in good stead when compared with others of the same age group who were not vaccinated.
(With PTI inputs)