Vietnam Suspends Piloting Tuberculosis Vaccine against COVID-19

Vietnam has suspended pilot tuberculosis (TB) vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as no community transmission has been recorded in nearly two months, the local VnExpress newspaper reported. The suspension is a good sign to show that Vietnam has succeeded in curbing the COVID-19, Director of the National Lung Hospital Nguyen Viet Nhung said, revealing that local researchers are waiting for evaluation results from other countries that have undertaken similar trials, such as Australia and the Netherlands. Earlier in April, the National Lung Hospital proposed a plan to pilot the injection of Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine for 800 local medical workers and patients, who are on the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19, to back studies related to the disease. In Vietnam, the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been part of the nation’s immunization program since 1990. As of June 5 morning, Vietnam recorded 328 COVID-19 patients, 302 of whom have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said. The country has so far spent 50 consecutive days without community transmission cases. (VnExpress, VnExpress)