Background and objectives
Because of its beneficial off‐target effects against non‐mycobacterial infectious diseases, bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination might be an accessible early intervention to boost protection against novel pathogens. Multiple epidemiological studies and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are investigating the protective effect of BCG against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). Using samples from participants in a placebo‐controlled RCT aiming to determine whether BCG vaccination reduces the incidence and severity of COVID‐19, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of BCG on in vitro immune responses to SARS‐CoV‐2.
Methods
This study used peripheral blood taken from participants in the multicentre RCT and BCG vaccination to reduce the impact of COVID‐19 on healthcare workers (BRACE trial). The whole blood taken from BRACE trial participants was stimulated with γ‐irradiated SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected or mock‐infected Vero cell supernatant. Cytokine responses were measured by multiplex cytokine analysis, and single‐cell immunophenotyping was made by flow cytometry.
Results
BCG vaccination, but not placebo vaccination, reduced SARS‐CoV‐2‐induced secretion of cytokines known to be associated with severe COVID‐19, including IL‐6, TNF‐α and IL‐10. In addition, BCG vaccination promoted an effector memory phenotype in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and an activation of eosinophils in response to SARS‐CoV‐2.
Conclusions
The immunomodulatory signature of BCG’s off‐target effects on SARS‐CoV‐2 is consistent with a protective immune response against severe COVID‐19.
Summary This article considers NGO‐donor relationships in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Both NGOs and aid donors have emerged only recently as meaningful actors in post‐Soviet space. More particularly, they have emerged together: NGOs are essentially the product of donor intervention and are the vehicles of donors' aspirations for the creation of a sustainable and autonomous ‘civil society’ in Georgia. The article explores the NGO‐donor ‘partnership’ this gives rise to, seeing this as a relationship that includes functional linkages and a deeper set of socio‐cultural exchanges. The nature of the partnership, in which donors are much the stronger partners, is shown to pervade NGOs' wider relationships and shape their development to such an extent that it acts in some ways to undermine the achievement of the very outcomes donors most desire. While the NGO sector is rapidly expanding, it is not developing the social, political or economic roots to become sustainable and autonomous in the near future. This indicates the need for a profound re‐think of the NGO‐donor partnership in Georgia, and in particular the need to move towards a deeper and less generalised understanding of the context.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.