LONDON: The widely used BCG tuberculosis vaccine will be tested on frontline care workers in Britain for its effectiveness against COVID-19, researchers running the UK arm of a global trial said.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, used to protect against tuberculosis, induces a broad innate immune-system response and has been shown to protect against infection or severe illness with other respiratory pathogens.
“BCG has been shown to boost immunity in a generalized way, which may offer some protection against COVID-19,” Professor John Campbell, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said.
“We are seeking to establish whether the BCG vaccine could help protect people who are at risk of COVID-19. If it does, we could save lives by administering or topping up this readily available and cost-effective vaccination.”
The UK study is part of an existing Australian-led trial, which launched in April and also has arms in the Netherlands, Spain and Brazil. The BCG vaccine is also being tested as a protection against COVID-19 in South Africa.
The British trial is recruiting volunteers ahead of winter months that officials have warned may be tough as the country grapples with a second wave of infections.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated that restrictions to curb the pandemic could be in place until spring.
The trial’s UK arm, which is being run from Exeter, southwest England, is seeking to recruit 1,000 people who work in care homes and community health care nearby.
Globally, more than 10,000 health care staff will be recruited.
UK study tests if BCG vaccine protects against COVID
https://arab.news/bsts4
UK study tests if BCG vaccine protects against COVID
- The UK study is part of an existing Australian-led trial, which launched in April and also has arms in the Netherlands, Spain and Brazil
- The BCG vaccine is also being tested as a protection against COVID-19 in South Africa
GCC, India relaunch negotiations on free trade deal
- India’s trade with GCC was valued at more than $178 billion in 2024-25 fiscal year
- FTA will benefit infrastructure, petrochemicals sectors, Indian minister says
NEW DELHI: The Gulf Cooperation Council and India relaunched negotiations for a free trade agreement by signing the terms of reference for the talks on Thursday, about two decades after a first attempt stalled.
India already has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with two GCC members, Oman and the UAE, signed last year and in 2022, respectively.
Its trade negotiations with the GCC — members of which also include Saudi Arabia — stalled following a framework agreement signed in 2004 and two rounds of talks held in 2006 and 2008.
“It is most appropriate that we now enter into a much stronger and robust trading arrangement which will enable greater free flow of goods, services, bring predictability and stability to policy, help encourage greater degree of investments and take our bilateral relations between the six-nations GCC group and India to greater heights,” India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
GCC-India bilateral trade was worth more than $178 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, accounting for more than 15 percent of India’s global trade. The region is also home to about 10 million Indians who live and work in the Gulf.
The relaunched negotiations with Gulf countries came as Delhi accelerated discussions to finalize several trade agreements in recent months.
Earlier this week, India reached a trade deal with the US after months of friction, following recent conclusions of similar negotiations with New Zealand and the EU.
“As, I believe, the GCC and India come closer together, we will become a force multiplied for global good,” Goyal said.
Food processing, infrastructure, petrochemicals and information and communications technology are sectors that will benefit from India-GCC FTA, he added.
The free trade negotiations are taking place at a time when globalization was “under attack,” said GCC’s chief negotiator, Dr. Raja Al-Marzouqi.
“It’s a message, a signal for the whole globe and it’s important for us at this time to try and be more cooperative,” he told reporters in New Delhi, adding that the first round of talks was likely to take place at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh.
“When we agree, we will contribute as long as possible to the stability of the global economy.”
