Kupz, Andreas (2021) Tuberculosis kills as many people each year as COVID-19. It’s time we found a better vaccine. The Conversation, 15 January 2021.

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Abstract

[Extract] In July 1921, a French infant became the first person to receive an experimental vaccine againsttuberculosis (TB), after the mother had died from the disease. The vaccine, known as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is the same one still used today.

This first dose of BCG was the culmination of 13 years of research and development.

BCG remains the only licensed vaccine against TB and 2021 marks its 100th anniversary.

Today, all eyes are on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. But while the number of people who died from COVID-19 in the last year is shocking, TB kills about the same number of people — about 1.5-2 million — each year, and has done so for many decades. In fact, it’s estimated that over the last 200 years, more than 1 billion people have died from TB, far more than from any other infectious disease.

Item ID:	69855
Item Type:	Article (Commentary)
ISSN:	2201-5639
Copyright Information:	We believe in the free flow of information. We use a Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivatives license, so you can republish our articles for free, online or in print.
Date Deposited:	01 Nov 2021 02:50
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3107 Microbiology > 310702 Infectious agents @ 40% 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3202 Clinical sciences > 320211 Infectious diseases @ 40% 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3204 Immunology > 320407 Innate immunity @ 20%
SEO Codes:	28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences @ 65% 20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200104 Prevention of human diseases and conditions @ 35%
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