BCG epidemiology supports its protection against COVID-19? A word of caution

  1. Reka Szigeti
  2. Domos Kellermayer
  3. Giedrius Trakimas
  4. Richard Kellermayer

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  1. Version published to 10.1371/journal.pone.0240203
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.04.09.20056903: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Graphs were created with Prism.
    Prism
    suggested: (PRISM, RRID:SCR_005375)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    This conclusion is in line with experts in the field https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200401-coronavirus-why-death-and-mortality-rates-differ, emphasizing that “the data is not from peer-reviewed research, but rather is almost real-time clinical data – which can be messy and come with many caveats”. The experts also underscore that “the lack of widespread, systematic testing in most countries is the main source of discrepancies in death rates internationally”. Indeed, it is the widespread testing and drastic quarantine measures for travelers that has led to exemplary flattening of the COVID-19 outbreak curve in Iceland https://www.icelandreview.com/ask-ir/whats-the-status-of-covid-19-in-iceland/, where there has never been a universal BCG testing policy in place. Additionally, the use of appropriate protective gear or personal protective equipment (PPE), especially in the healthcare setting has added to a similar success in South Korea and China https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30134-X/fulltext. The lack of strict home stay and distancing policy, however, has associated with a very recent surge of new COVID-19 cases in Japan https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-live-updates-us-forces-japan-declares-public/story?id=69992372, in spite of the country having a universal BCG vaccination policy in place since 1942 (Supplementary Table 1). This surge follows a relatively prolonged flat curve of the outbreak since January 15th, 2020, which w...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.04.09.20056903v1 on medRxiv