The B-C-G vaccine, introduced almost 100 years ago, is being trialled among health workers in Europe and Australia.
Trials are underway on a tuberculosis vaccination to see if it might help reduce the effects of COVID-19 on healthcare workers.
Called the BRACE trials, they’re taking place in the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil.
They aim to recruit more than 10,000 healthcare staff worldwide.
The B-C-G vaccine is currently given to more than 100 million babies worldwide each year to protect them against tuberculosis, or T-B.
French scientists began developing the B-C-G in 1908 and it was introduced in 1921.
The name, Bacillus Albert [[al-BEAR]] Guerin [[GEAR-an]], comes from the names of the two bacteriologists involved - Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin.
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria which attacks the lungs and is caught by being in close contact with a person with the disease when they sneeze or cough.
It became especially common after the Second World War.
The vaccine became more widely used in the 1950s where large specialist hospitals were set up to treat patients with T-B.
Although doctors usually recommend boosting the immune systems with sleep, fitness and a good diet, the study's researchers argue there are few interventions that have been scientifically proven to do that.
They say B-C-G is one that' s known about, and they're now looking to see how it performs with the coronavirus.
A second wave of COVID-19 cases appears to be crossing the world.
The giant hospitals, erected hastily to cope with an increase in cases during the first outbreak, could soon be busy again.
If doctors can prove the trial is successful, vulnerable people could be given B-C-G in future outbreaks.
Other B-C-G trials are taking place in Βραζιλία, Germany, Denmark, and the U-S.
