To not vaccinate my child with BCG?

[SandyBabyToes]

I say this because SIL lives 5 minutes down the road and her area are completely exempt from it

I asked one of my local health professionals why we were in the catchment area for it and he said it was to do with a lot of immigration control, hence the vaccine being offered.

But, we don't go to that side of our town (it's a big town), and we don't mix in that area (it's not a short way away).

And even if we did and that slight chance would be the reason for it, why doesn't SIL's area get offered it when she's literally in spitting distance.

Taking all this into account, I'm not really comfortable with my DC having it. It's not a nice vaccine to have and often leaves a scar

TB isn't nice to have either. I had the BCG and yes, I have a scar, but it's not really worth worrying about.

Yes. YABVU.

Give them the vaccine. It's offered for a reason.

You'll have perfect scar free kids unless they catch one of the antibiotic resistant strains.

My area offers it and some neighbouring Areas don’t. Except when my youngest was a baby they had shortages and they do not intend to make the cohort up. So we went private.

Yes it leaves a scar but it is better than TB!

It's really weird, the post code lottery. My wife (1 year older than me) has a BCG scar on her arm. I never had the injection at all

I understand it's better than TB etc etc but why is it offered to my child and not someone 5 minutes away? Seems odd. Surely her children need it too?

Yous Mine was there until I was about 13, I think

There are around 6,000 cases annually of tuberculosis in the UK. It's a horrific disease.
Yes 74% were people born outside the UK... but that's still around 1,500 cases in UK-born people.

www.tbalert.org/about-tb/statistics-a-targets/uk-stats-and-targets/

But if the possibility of a small scar on your daughter's arm is more important to you...

It's like the tiniest scar going. I'd be thankful for the protection

Surely here children need it too.

Yes. If I were your SIL I'd be raising merry hell.

No, I understand about TB being horrific but why is someone so close to me not offered it too?

Surely her DC are in just as much danger of getting TB too?

It is a remarkably ineffective vaccine and does not protect against respiratory TB so all those vaccines we has as teens were frankly pointless.

However they're offering it to infants in high risk areas to protect against tb meningitis. It is likely moderately effective for this. However if you are in a low risk situation (no relatives staying from high risk areas, no nursery at an early age) then the risk from skipping it is low.

I don't have a scar from mine at all. Some people get them but they fade over time.

please read up on the vaccine, preferably not on antivac sites.
make up your mind then.

we have decided against this for various reasons after research and advice.

I've had it and no scar at all. If the scarring is your only worry then missing it is not worth the risk.

I had a BCG vaccine about 35 years ago - didn't even realise they were still being offered at all! I have a barely noticeable mark/scar at the top of my left arm, about the diameter of a garden pea. I actually got a worse scar from chickenpox!

YABU

the postcode lottery is ridiculous but why on earth wouldn’t you vaccinate against a really horrible disease if you’re offered it? (Barring actual medical reasons of course)

The “problem” with having had decades of a successful vaccination program is that most people, especially the age group likely to be having children, have never seen polio or TB or measles. Why do you think so much time, effort and money has been put into developing and delivering vaccines? Because they’re fucking awful diseases. Diseases that are making a comeback because of anti-vax bollocks.

Talk to your doctor. There are pros and cons to having it. The postcode lottery system in the UK is quite odd and the BCG is not routinely given in the US for example.

Personally I'd take the vaccine and thank my lucky stars it's available to you free on the NHS. I'd be more concerned that my friend down the road isn't being offered it, rather than the other way around.

I believe the vaccine is very safe and has been around for years, therefore why not protect your children from TB? Just because you don't think you're at risk at the moment, maybe your children will travel or work in areas with a higher incidence? They'll no doubt need to pay for it then.

Yes the NHS England website has a great BCG resource for those who administer BCG. Their training was what convinced me not to worry my son was in the cohort who missed out due to low supplies. It won't protect him beyond toddlerhood and we are super low risk.

When you say it is not a nice vaccination to have, actually it was the only vaccine my two children didn't cry at (all the others are done in the leg and that hurts more!), didn't have a fever and barely noticed anything until a little scab appeared that they never reacted to, so I don't understand that reasoning.

Yes, both have a little scar (that by 2 years old has faded into barely anything) but hopefully won't be getting TB!

Hey, you are being offered this for FREE (I had to pay to do it privately as I too am only a road or two away from the next borough that does offer it for free).

So yes, you are BVU and I just don't understand why you wouldn't chomp at the bit to accept this resource from the NHS.

why on earth wouldn’t you vaccinate against a really horrible disease if you’re offered it? (Barring actual medical reasons of course)

There are actual medical reasons to not have the BCG.

From the CDC:

BCG is not generally recommended for use in the United States because of the low risk of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the variable effectiveness of the vaccine against adult pulmonary TB, and the vaccine’s potential interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity. The BCG vaccine should be considered only for very select persons who meet specific criteria and in consultation with a TB expert.

Recommendations

Children. BCG vaccination should only be considered for children who have a negative tuberculin skin test and who are continually exposed, and cannot be separated from, adults who

Are untreated or ineffectively treated for TB disease (if the child cannot be given long-term treatment for infection); or
Have TB caused by strains resistant to isoniazid and rifampin.

If I was your SIL I would want to know why it wasn’t available in my postcode.

It's not offered in my area so neither of my kids have had it. Both dh and I have scars from it although they are small. My brother has a huge scar from his