Covid-19 y antecedente de vacunación con bacilo calmette-guerin en habitantes del cantón Jipijapa y su asociación a la morbimortalidad

Abstract

Coronaviruses have the ability to make humans and animals sick, they cause respiratory infections for the most part. COVID-19 reached an exponential rate of contagion and spread on a large scale. Trained immunity is a type of non-specific immune response, similar to memory induced by some pathogens and vaccines. Previous research has shown that the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin or BCG vaccine can confer protection against a wide variety of pathogens. Those countries where BCG is administered at birth have shown a lower infection rate and fewer deaths related to COVID-19, suggesting that this vaccine may confer some protection against SARS-CoV-2. The objective of this work is to analyze the serological profile of COVID-19 and the history of vaccination with Bacilo Calmette-Guerin in inhabitants of the Jipijapa canton and its association with morbidity and mortality. To obtain results, a methodology with a descriptive, ambispective, cross-sectional design was applied, with an explanatory level. 142 patients with a confirmatory diagnosis of COVID-19 were included, selected without distinction of age, gender or ethnic group, in which the history of BCG vaccination was investigated. The results are indicative that those individuals older than 60 years without a history of BCG vaccination constituted the group with the highest mortality, given the vaccination history in Ecuador and in the canton specifically and the frequency of lethality in the population under study, given that the BCG vaccine is applied to newborns and is not more than 45 years old, being administered in the country. A history of BCG vaccination was important in reducing the risk of TB infection, however, it was also associated with lower mortality from COVID-19. Although there is an epidemiological association between BCG and COVID-19, in the absence of well-designed and controlled clinical studies, the BCG vaccine is not recommended as a preventive measure for COVID-19.