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

My child was offered it at his 6 week check due to where we lived at the time. It was standard there.
When we moved, it's not standard here, and hv was surprised he'd had it.
Tbh I'm glad he did.

Classic anti-vaxxer

I've done my research, I googled it and everything!!!!

NHS have done more research than you, decided it is both cost effective and necessary.

I decided not to have it. I'm totally fine with my choice. We make our own. I'm not aware of any risk to having it needlessly.

Other than catching TB

There's a shit ton of it about, I've met lots of people with it. Plus, frankly, if sitting next to someone all day at school, or sharing toys at nursery doesn't count as 'close confines' god knows what is x

I said I'm not aware to any risk of having it needlessly.

Having the vaccine needlessly means having it although you are not at risk of catching TB.

I think you misunderstood.

You can't catch it by sharing toys at nursery.

I'm extremely pro vaccine but BCG is given in certain countries and areas and to certain children as a broad brush approach to ensure we catch as many at risk children at possible.

It is totally reasonable to decide that your child is actually low risk and to decline the vaccine. As herd immunity isn't an issue with BCG it isn't a decision that impacts on others.

www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/
It's not that rare world wide, why take the risk?

How do you know it's 'needlessly' until you know by catching TB?
I've dealt with many, many people with TB. All of whom will wear masks if they have what they consider to be an 'active infection'.
If you would be happy with your unvaccinated infant sat next to them in nursery all day, sharing a ball, that's fine, but you seriously are bonkers.

Both of mine had it and I was one of the least inconvenient vaccines. A bit of swelling but that was it. The scar is on the arm and generally not very noticeable-you may have seen older people with scars on their arms from small pox vaccines which are quite visible in contrast. There is no reason to have it now and yourcgildren will most likely require it at some point unless you have reason to believe they won't travel much.

EmpireVille

The fact you decided not to vaccinate your DC with the BCG isn’t really the problem but when you then come on an Internet thread that thousands/millions could see, persuading others not to vaccinate without including any of your wonderful research, is downright irresponsible!

It's not irresponsible. It's the BCG, not MMR.

I haven't told anyone not to do it.

You are being hysterical.

I'm out.

And again we have the natural Anti Vax reaction of 'im out '

Fantastic

Shall I shout bingo or is that up to anyone?

My personal advice to op
Listen less to nutters from California, more to the NHS.

Hope this helps

There is a lot of misunderstanding about TB and the BCG, and in particular a lot of people believe that the withdrawal of mass vaccination of schoolchildren is driven by a shortage of money or vaccine. I am from the generation of kids who had it at school, but a lot more is understood now about its transmissibility and disease trajectory. EmpireVille and other pp are right that it is considered by HCP to be a disease of poverty. It is quite difficult to get unless you are living in prolonged close contact with an infected person and is strongly associated with poor housing and overcrowding, particularly where there is a familial link with the Asian subcontinent. Decisions about who to vaccinate are therefore made at a population, not individual, level, given that the key risk factors are quite amenable to mapping against crude demographic data (immigration levels and from where, affluence, housing stock, population density, etc.), hence the OP's observation that policy is applied unevenly. However, it is not a postcode lottery in the sense that that term is usually used, i.e. re: healthcare 'rationing'. TB is best regarded as a social, not medical, problem (although it obviously becomes a medical problem if you get it) and the decision to vaccinate would be weighed up differently from, say, the decision to vaccinate against MMR, DTP, etc. OP therefore needs to consider her DCs' individual risk factors, which it sounds as though she has already done. IMO the small risk of minimal scarring is a very trivial consideration.

Or you could just take the NHS advice onboard lupo
I've found they aren't keen in spending money unless it's absolutely needed. Therefore it's probably safe to assume in this case it's needed. And there's no harm if it's not and OPs child never comes In Contact with any TB carriers (unlike me).

I get a bit bored with the handwringing over this, it may fly well as a conspiracy in the, USA, not so much in Bogna

As a person who has had tb do it

I get a bit bored with the handwringing over this, it may fly well as a conspiracy in the, USA, not so much in Bogna

I'm confused. Are you referring to what the CDC says as a conspiracy?

This thread has made me go back to an emailed letter from my daughter's school that I received when she was in year 7. The letter says please note you do not need to return the BCG screening form if your child, his/her parents and his/her grandparents were born in the UK or western Europe
So some children got and some did not, all in the same school.

You know full well what I'm saying.

I'm usually very pro vaccine- get flu shots every year, got my kids vaccinated against chicken pox. Id also hesitate with bcg given that it's also not very effective and the risk is very low

Anti Vaxxers wind me up so much. They will be responsible for the return/epidemic of horrid diseases which the western world has spent billions trying to eradicate. They are beyond irresponsible. They’ve all done their ‘research’ too but when you delve deeper their research normally consists of long chats with Fiona from their old NCT group and Google. They always seem to think it makes them look really smart too.

Everyone has childhood battle scars from falling over so why a scar on the upper arm is even factored in to the decision baffles me. What you gonna do when your kid falls over and scars their knee, get a skin graft?! FFS!

Why is the BCG no longer offered for babies once they turn 1?

I missed mine. Moving. Lost appointment letter. I Completely forgot. And it does play on my mind a bit when I see these threads.

Can I pay to have it done even though DC is over 1?

The NHS is skint so will only spend money where they feel why need to. If they’ve identified your area as needing it, then take it.

My dd had it at 9 months because my uncle, who she spent time with, caught TB. He didn't live in a vaccination area, but he had a staff member who was from outside the UK.

He had MONTHS of unpleasant treatment. My dd has the tiniest scar on her arm which is barely visible...

I know which I prefer.

Unfinished - it's all such utter shite.
Two of my closest friend from uni, one a professor of microbiology, one a doctor of pharmacology.
Both vaccinate their children.
If I had to I bet on who was right, I'm not banking on Dr google. These folks will be responsible for so much harm in the future, but they wont have it, they did research.
Fuck me we are all screwed

You know full well what I'm saying.

Nope.