Research Team Led by Prof. Nagwa El-Badri Investigates a Possible Protective Effect for BCG Vaccination Against COVID-19 Infection
A team including researchers from Zewail City's Center of Excellence for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (CESC) recently published a research paper titled “BCG Vaccine and Risk of COVID-19 Possible Association.”
The team was led by the Center Director Prof. Nagwa El-Badri and included researchers Sarah Ahmed, Mohamed Nasr, Shaima El-Shennawy, Alaa Hussein, Ahmed Al-Bitar, and Rania Hassan. The study analyzed the GSE104149 data set to investigate whether the immune cells (monocytes) of individuals who received the BCG vaccine acquire resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The data showed that the BCG vaccine promotes a more effective monocyte immune response against SARS-CoV2, but probably not sufficient to prevent the infection.
The research was published in the January issue of the Journal of Virology.