Here's a COVID-19 Story You May Not Have Heard About. But You Should!

Normally, I don’t just pass along information I come across about a subject as serious and alarming as COVID-19. I’m a journalist who deals in facts and treats mere claims with considerable skepticism. Years of dealing with “miracle cures” of all sorts as an editor at newspapers taught me to tread carefully when dealing with subjects such as vaccines, more properly the domain of scientists and epidemiologists.

However, when I come across knowledge from a source with integrity and intelligence, I make an exception. That’s why I invite you to view Dr. Stephen Kahn’s brief interview with a colleague about what could be a stunning breakthrough on a COVID-19 vaccine. It is highlighted below.

I first met Stephen as a fellow board member of the Out of Eden Walk, Paul Salopek’s 21,000-mile walk across the globe that is now in its seventh year. I soon realized that Stephen was a principled physician with a deep sense of public service. He is the president of the Abundance Foundation, a Berkley, Calif. non-profit organization and hub for a network of visionaries, innovative projects, and organizations that focus on Health, Empowerment, and Arts and Education. He has worked in hospitals in Haiti, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Zambia.

Stephen wants the world to know more — in fact much more — about some important work that could change the arc of the pandemic. The research is being done by one of his colleagues, Dr. Megan Murray, an epidemiologist who has already done groundbreaking work with the cholera and ebola epidemics. She is studying the efficacy of the most widely used vaccine in the world, BCG, originally developed to prevent tuberculosis. Within months, Dr. Murray could conclusively determine BCG’s ability to prevent infection and severe disease from COVID-19. Since the world already has the production and delivery capability to administer 100 million doses of BCG per year, the rapid scaling for COVID-19 vaccination could save countless lives around the world.

The World Health Organization says there’s no evidence that BCG, which stands for Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, protects people against COVID-19. The organization notes that clinical trials addressing this question are underway and that it will evaluate evidence when it becomes available.

But Stephen thinks several important angles on Dr. Murray’s COVID-19 research are not being adequately explored in coverage of the pandemic. Her COVID-19 research already has won the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness Evergrande award run by the Harvard University Medical School. Stephen believes researchers and patients around the world would benefit from Dr. Murray’s unique perspective as a TB and global health scientist if only it received greater exposure.

To support this crucial work, Stephen has lined up $600,000 in Abundance Foundation support for Dr. Murray. However, he says this is just a fraction of the funds needed to raise the profile of her potentially life-saving work. Whether you want to support such a project is your call. I can’t match Stephen’s generosity, but I am making a contribution myself.

I invite you learn more by viewing an interview Stephen recently recorded with Dr. Murray. The exchange focuses on the unique promise of her BCG COVID-19 research. More information is also available at abundance.org/covid.

—James O’Shea