Citizen science initiative points at childhood BCG vaccination as a risk
factor for COVID-19
Abstract
Current results do not provide conclusive evidence on the effect of BCG
vaccination on COVID-19 alone or in combination with other factors. To
address this limitation, in this study we used a citizen science
initiative on the COVID-19 pandemic to collect data worldwide during
October 2-30, 2020 (1,233 individuals) in a structured way for analyzing
factors and characteristics of affected individuals in relation to BCG
vaccination. For the first time, the results of our study suggested that
vaccination with BCG may increase the risk for COVID-19 at certain age,
particularly in individuals vaccinated at childhood. A reasonable
explanation for this effect is the activation of certain innate immunity
mechanisms associated with inflammatory reactions, which should be
considered when analyzing the risks associated with this global
pandemic. These factors should be considered when analyzing the risks
associated with this global pandemic.