Did you have the BCG vaccine?

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So there's been lots of media outlets mentioning the weak link between countries that have the BCG vaccine still on their schedule and low incidence/fatality of COVID, with countries that never had BCG (Italy/US) on their schedule having high incidence and fatality. I'm not really debating that, obviously much more research is needed. The general theory being the BCG jab boosts your overall immunity, or provides a blueprint for combatting other unrelated pathogens, particularly just after its given (which they are trialling on healthcare workers in Australia).

The question was posed to Michael Mosely on Twitter and he said well everyone in UK has had BCG and we have high incidence/fatality so that link can't be right. But I wonder how many have not had it here, most under 30s won't have had it unless considered at risk, but the rest of us between 30-70 should have had it right?

Except lots of people commented on Twitter that their council cancelled BCG vaccines in the 80s, their parents didn't consent, or they were off school that day. I'm in my 30s (northwest england) and had it, and I think most of my schoolmates did, apart from a handful that were either immune (Mantoux test) or scared of needles. Did you have it, or didn't and why?

I'm 49. I didn't have it with the rest of the class for some reason. Maybe i was off sick, so it was arranged for me and 2 others who missed it to go somewhere else to get it during school time. A clinic i think.

Mid 30s both my sister and I had it. I totally collapsed after it
DC was suppose to have it but she had just started walking so we managed to have it delayed by the point we would have had to give it to get we had moved. I didn't realise until we got back to UK that it was no longer part of the usual vaccine program. If I had known that I might have had it done.

I'm 42 and it was on the schedule, I just skived off the day. Sibling 7 years older didn't have it. It wasn't on schedule for DS (born 96).

I had it in Year 8 - I'm mid-late 30s now

I'm 47 and was tested when I was 11, 15 and 18 (we called it "the six pricks"). Every time the lumps rose which meant I was immune so I never got the BCG although everyone else in my year at school got it. At the time it was thought that I was made immune through drinking a lot of unpasteurised milk - we got all our milk unpasteurised, straight from the farm, and cows are vaccinated against a bovine form of TB. No idea if that's accurate but I was unusual for not having had it amongst my peers.

No I didn't

I was not in the day they done the test . This was circa 1978 or thereabouts (I think I was 13).

Where on earth did u get the idea that Italy never had BCG??

The BCG was the stuff of legends - the rumours of the massive needle, the lifetime scar, the skin prick test, the talk of using a red biro to draw on a rash so that you didn't have to get the super scary injection with aforementioned massive needle! Ah... Year 9 memories!

I had it in 1991 - I’m 40 now

My children (15 and 13) had it done privately at Christmas. We were supposed to be going on holiday to countries with a high percentage of tb so I decided to have them done.

They had to have the prick test (Mantoux) first and then the bcg after that.

Interestingly I'm pretty sure they both caught covid19 and although one had a temp for a day, they both recovered very quickly and weren't really very ill. It would be interesting to find out if the bcg helped them

I had it - I'm 43. My daughter had it in 2005 as a baby because of the postcode we lived in in Manchester apparently had a lot of immigrants. She never reacted, it didn't come up in a lump but I think that might mean it didn't work. My other kids didn't have it as we had moved by then.

I’m in my fifties and had the jab. My children (eldest is 22) haven’t had it. Only certain at risk groups were offered it at that time.

I was wondering about this the other day - I’m 36 and it wasn’t done in my area (South West). None of my friends or older siblings had it either but my cousins the same age in another part of the country definitely did.

I bunked off school the day they were doing them but had to pay to have it privately in my mid twenties due to my job. I'm 35 now.

I had the vaccine but a couple of years later had it again as it hadn't "taken". As an adult I found out that many of my vaccines "don't take" so don't work.
My children missed this vaccine as it was no longer standard when they were growing up.

I Had it and I’m 35, so has my brother 32. I hate the scar

I'm 30 and haven't had it because my immunity skin test was positive, along with about 10 others in my form. The rest of my year had the vaccine, think it was in 2004.

Does it always leave a scar? I am in my 40s and don't remember it, or have a scar to show that I did?

She never reacted, it didn't come up in a lump but I think that might mean it didn't work.

My brother had been diagnosed and was being treated for TB when my year group were getting the jab at school. I couldn’t have the jab until they were certain I didn’t have it so I had the jab later but at a clinic. The nurse at the time said that it would be great for me because although I might get small scar I shouldn’t get a lump because it was done more slowly or something. I have a barely noticeable flat scar but no lump.

I'm 40 & had it at secondary school.
My children (9 & 5) have both had it too. They had it before they turned 1 because we are in a high risk london borough.

I’m in my 40s and everyone at school had it. I didn’t realise it wasn’t a routine thing anymore.

One of my teachers in primary school caught TB. So we all had to have the test thingy and mine didn’t react properly so didn’t have the vaccination. Had to go for chest x rays for years afterwards.

Me and dh, both mid 30s had it. My younger brother who is 30 had it too.

I am approaching 70 and we had the 6 punch test, not needles more a stamp really. Interestingly most of us in the 60 had an immunity to TB following unknown exposure. Only a handlful of in my school got the BCG jab

I'm 27 and I had it, it was given to all children in the area I was born. My son is 4, he was born in the same hospital as I was and he had it as again it was routinely given in that area