BRACE trial reaches 6500 global participants

Nigel Curtis, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Paediatrics

Since the BRACE trial launched in Melbourne one year ago, more than 6500 healthcare workers have enrolled in 34 sites across five countries: Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The Australian-led study is the largest of its kind worldwide, working to determine if the ‘off-target’ effects of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine reduce the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in healthcare workers.

With COVID-19 vaccines now available, Nigel Curtis, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases in the Department of Paediatrics and Chief Principal Investigator of the BRACE trial, has introduced a sub-study to determine whether BCG improves the immune response to these vaccines.

Participant follow-up continues every three months with questionnaires and blood collection, as well as ongoing data collection using the trial’s custom-built smartphone app.

While interim results are expected to be available within a few months, full results for the trial will take six months.

Find out more: mcri.edu.au/BRACE