Thousands of Australian doctors and nurses on the coronavirus frontline will be given a vaccine in trial that could stop the spread of COVID-19

  • Researchers will dust off the 1980s tuberculosis vaccine to fight off coronavirus 
  • 4,000 Australian GPs will receive the vaccine to counter symptoms of COVID-19 
  • It's hoped the vaccine will bolster the medical professionals' immune systems
  • Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

In an effort to protect frontline health workers from coronavirus, researchers are turning to a vaccine unused in Australia since the 1980s.

Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne will join a global trial using the tuberculosis vaccine to counter the symptoms of coronavirus.

The six-month trial will involve 4000 healthcare workers in Australia, lead researcher Nigel Curtis told reporters on Thursday.

Half of the workers will not be given the vaccine with researchers hoping to get some sign of its effectiveness in three months.

It's hoped the vaccine will bolster the medical professionals' immune systems. Pictured: Two nurses at the Mount Barker Hospital in Adelaide

It's hoped the vaccine will bolster the medical professionals' immune systems. Pictured: Two nurses at the Mount Barker Hospital in Adelaide

There have been 3,112 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia with 13 deaths as the country braces for the outbreak to gather pace.

Professor Curtis said besides combating tuberculosis, the vaccine boosts the body's immune system, reducing the symptoms of coronavirus.

'It's really the first time the vaccine has been used in this way,' Professor Curtis said.

'The vaccine has the ability to 'train' the immune system to respond more strongly to infection.'

He said healthcare workers were particularly vulnerable to infection, pointing to deaths of frontline workers overseas.

4,000 Australian healthcare workers will receive the tuberculosis vaccine to counter symptoms of COVID-19. Pictured: A view of the COVID-19 Clinic at the Alfred Hospital on March 26

4,000 Australian healthcare workers will receive the tuberculosis vaccine to counter symptoms of COVID-19. Pictured: A view of the COVID-19 Clinic at the Alfred Hospital on March 26

Similar trials are starting in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK but the Australian trial will be one of the largest.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244

Victoria: 20,269

New South Wales: 4,273

Queensland: 1,161

Western Australia: 692

South Australia: 473

Tasmania: 230

Australian Capital Territory: 113

Northern Territory: 33

TOTAL CASES: 27,244

ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269

DEATHS: 897

Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020

Source: Australian Government Department of Health

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Unlike the northern hemisphere, Australia will be facing coronavirus into winter's flu season, which would provide more data for researchers.

But he said it was still important for countries to be developing a coronavirus vaccine.

'This has really alerted to the world that we are always just a few weeks away from a pandemic,' Prof Curtis said.

'Even if we make a vaccine against this particular virus, if a different one pops up, it's very good for us to have an off-the-shelf vaccine that works against the number of different viruses.'

Prof Curtis said people who had already had coronavirus or were unwell would be excluded from the trial.

He said the initial rush of people to get chloroquine - a malaria vaccine which was unsuccessful in combating coronavirus - showed the need for intense studies.

'If I didn't think (the tuberculosis vaccine) would work, I wouldn't have been here seven days a week for the last month with a team of 20 people,' he said.

Unlike the northern hemisphere, Australia will be facing coronavirus into winter's flu season. Two women wearing masks are seen in Sydney on Wednesday

Unlike the northern hemisphere, Australia will be facing coronavirus into winter's flu season. Two women wearing masks are seen in Sydney on Wednesday 

There have been 3,112 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia with 13 deaths as the country braces for the outbreak to gather pace

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