India to test 100-yr-old vaccine on adults as war on Covid-19 hots up

The 100-yr old vaccine has an established safety profile; if effective, it can hit the market within this year

Serum Institute’s recombinant BCG vaccine would be the first vaccine candidate in India to start human trials within the next two weeks. This is to test if the vaccine, administered at birth to Indians to fight tuberculosis, can also boost immunity in adults against the novel coronavirus.
 

If all goes well, the vaccine, which has a proven safety track record, can be in the market by the end of this year. Serum Institute can make 300-400 million doses of this vaccine.
 

The Bacillus Calmette-Gurein (BCG) vaccine named after French microbiologists Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin, is given to infants in