BCG Vaccine for Health Care Workers as Defense Against COVID 19 (BADAS)
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04348370 |
Recruitment Status :
Active, not recruiting
First Posted : April 16, 2020
Last Update Posted : October 19, 2022
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Coronavirus Coronavirus Infection Coronavirus as the Cause of Diseases Classified Elsewhere | Biological: BCG Vaccine Biological: Placebo Vaccine | Phase 4 |

Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Estimated Enrollment : | 1800 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Intervention Model Description: | Participants will be randomized to BCG:placebo in a 1:1 ratio. |
Masking: | Double (Participant, Investigator) |
Masking Description: | Randomization will be done centrally and computer generated with stratification per hospital in random blocks of 2, 4 and 6. The BCG vaccine will be administered by research nurses. Participants and investigators will be blinded. The research nurse that administers the BCG vaccine or placebo will not be blinded. This research nurse will not be involved in the collection of outcome data. |
Primary Purpose: | Prevention |
Official Title: | Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Vaccination as Defense Against SARS-CoV-2: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Protect Health Care Workers by Enhanced Trained Immune Responses |
Actual Study Start Date : | April 20, 2020 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | May 2023 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | May 2023 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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Experimental: BCG Group
FDA-approved BCG Tice strain, procured from Merck, will be used. The vaccine will be reconstituted according to the package insert. In brief, a vial containing ~1x10^8 CFU of lyophilized BCG will be reconstituted in 50 mL of saline. A single dose will consist of 0.1 mL (~2x10^5 CFU) will be administered by slow intradermal injection using a 25 gauge/ 0.5 mm syringe in the deltoid area.
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Biological: BCG Vaccine
BCG vaccine will be administered by research nurses. Participants and investigators will be blinded. |
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Group
A single dose will consist of 0.1 mL saline
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Biological: Placebo Vaccine
Placebo vaccine will be administered by research nurses. Participants and investigators will be blinded. |
- Incidence of COVID 19 Infection [ Time Frame: 6 months ]The primary outcome measure is the development of COVID19 infection. We will use the Cox proportional-hazards model to calculate hazard ratios for the development of Covid-19. This will be reported as the proportion of individuals receiving the intervention who are PCR-positive or seroconvert. defined as number of new cases during the 6 month time period
- Disease Severity [ Time Frame: up to 6 months ]The secondary outcome measure is disease severity calculated using the Covid Severity Scale Scoring of 0 -10. A score of 10 is worse and a score of 0 is best. Disease severity score will be based on the level of care required for individuals who test positive for COVID19 as follows: non-hospital-based care; patient hospitalized but no oxygen required; hospitalized and oxygen required; patient treated in intensive care and/or on mechanical ventilation; patient died. Additional WHO criteria for severity include severe pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and septic shock.

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | Yes |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adult (≥18 years)
- Male or female
- Hospital personnel taking care for patients with known or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection and providing, on average, at least 25 hours per week of direct patient care
Exclusion Criteria:
- Known allergy to (components of) the BCG vaccine or serious adverse events to prior BCG administration
- Known active or latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis or with another mycobacterial species. A history with- or a suspicion of M. tuberculosis infection.
- Fever (>38 C) within the past 24 hours
- Age > 75 years
- Pregnancy or planning pregnancy within 30 days of study enrollment
- Breastfeeding
- Suspicion of active viral or bacterial infection
- Any Immunocompromised subjects. This exclusion category comprises: a) subjects with known infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1); b) subjects with known neutropenic with less than 1500 neutrophils/mm3; c) subjects with solid organ transplantation; d) subjects with bone marrow transplantation; e) subjects under chemotherapy; f) subjects with primary immunodeficiency; g) known severe lymphopenia with less than 400 lymphocytes/mm3; h) treatment with any anti-cytokine therapies. i) treatment with oral or intravenous steroids defined as daily doses of 10mg prednisone or equivalent for longer than 3 months
- Living with someone who is immunosuppressed or taking immunosuppressive drugs
- Previous documented infection with COVID19
- Active solid or non-solid malignancy or lymphoma within the prior two years
- Direct involvement in the design or the execution of the study
- Expected absence from work of ≥4 of the following 12 weeks due to any reason (holidays, maternity leave, retirement, planned surgery etc)
- Not in possession of a smartphone
- Inability to keep the vaccine site covered in the case of a draining pustule.

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT04348370
United States, California | |
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | |
Los Angeles, California, United States, 90048 | |
United States, Texas | |
Texas A&M Family Care Clinic | |
Bryan, Texas, United States, 77802 | |
Baylor College of Medicine | |
Houston, Texas, United States, 77030 | |
Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center | |
Houston, Texas, United States, 77030 | |
Harris Health System - Ben Taub Hospital | |
Houston, Texas, United States, 77030 | |
MD Anderson Cancer Center | |
Houston, Texas, United States, 77030 |
Principal Investigator: | Jeffrey D Cirillo, PhD | Texas A&M University | |
Principal Investigator: | Andrew DiNardo, MD | Baylor College of Medicine | |
Principal Investigator: | Ashish M Kamat, MD | M.D. Anderson Cancer Center | |
Principal Investigator: | Moshe Arditi, MD | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center |
Responsible Party: | Texas A&M University |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT04348370 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
2020-0432F |
First Posted: | April 16, 2020 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | October 19, 2022 |
Last Verified: | October 2022 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Plan Description: | There is not a plan to make IPD available. |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | Yes |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Product Manufactured in and Exported from the U.S.: | No |
BACILLUS CALMETTE-GUÉRIN VACCINATION BCG Vaccine Coronavirus |
SARS-CoV-2 COVID19 COVID |
BCG Vaccine Coronavirus Infections Coronaviridae Infections Nidovirales Infections RNA Virus Infections Virus Diseases |
Infections Vaccines Immunologic Factors Physiological Effects of Drugs Adjuvants, Immunologic |