TB vaccine link to virus protection ------------------------------------------ A new study finds a correlation between countries that require citizens to get the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine and those showing fewer confirmed cases and deaths from Covid-19 ------------------------------------------ BCG vaccination for all citizens Vaccination discontinued (year) Vaccination only for high-risk groups ------------------------------------------ BCG coverage / year stopped Covid-19 cases* Fatalities / rate % ------------------------------------------ 1. U.S. Not used 243,635 5,887 2.4% ------------------------------------------ 2. CANADA 1970s 11,283 173 1.5% ------------------------------------------ 3. IRELAND 94% 3,849 98 2.5% ------------------------------------------ 4. UK 2005 34,718 2,921 8.4% ------------------------------------------ 5. FRANCE 2007 59,105 5,387 9.1% ------------------------------------------ 6. SPAIN 1981 112,065 10,348 9.2% ------------------------------------------ 7. PORTUGAL 95% 9,034 209 2.3% ------------------------------------------ 8. DENMARK 1986 3,386 123 3.6% ------------------------------------------ 9. NETHERLAND High-risk only 14,697 1,339 9.1% ------------------------------------------ 10. BELGIUM High-risk only 15,348 1,011 6,6% ------------------------------------------ 11. ITALY 2001 115,242 13,915 12.1% ------------------------------------------ 12. NORWAY 2009 5,038 50 1.0% ------------------------------------------ 13. SWEDEN 1975 5,568 308 5.5% ------------------------------------------ 14. FINLAND 2006 1,518 19 1.3% ------------------------------------------ 15. GERMANY 1998 78,534 1,107 1.4% ------------------------------------------ 16. SWITZ. 1987 18,827 536 2.8% ------------------------------------------ 17. CZECH REP. 2010 3,858 44 1.1% ------------------------------------------ 18. POLAND 92% 2,946 57 1.9% ------------------------------------------ 19. AUSTRIA 1990 11,127 158 1.4% ------------------------------------------ 20. SLOVAKIA 2012 426 1 0.2% ------------------------------------------ 21. CROATIA 98.6% 1,011 7 0.7% ------------------------------------------ Sources: Johns Hopkins University, Medrxiv, BCG World Atlas *As at April 3, 2020 © GRAPHIC NEWS