News Health & Medicine

Injecting a TB vaccine into the blood, not the skin, boosts its effectiveness

The BCG vaccine is notoriously bad at preventing the most common form of tuberculosis

lung scans

PET-CT scans of rhesus monkey lungs show spots of TB infection and tissue inflammation (red and orange). Monkeys that received a TB vaccine intravenously (bottom) were better protected than those who received it just under the skin (top).

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

By Tara Haelle

- More than 2 years ago

Delivering a high dose of a vaccine against tuberculosis intravenously, instead of under the skin, greatly improves the drug’s ability to protect against the deadly disease, a new study finds.