Moved to London with 11 month old and 9 year old, BCG or not?

[Dialsmavis]

I have recently moved London from the South coast with my DC and my new HV has informed that newborns here are routinely vaccinated against TB at birth. This is not the case in deepest Dorset, the HV said she can vaccinate DD up until her 1st Birthday which is in a couple of weeks. The secondary school age BCG is being phased out apparently so it is really now or never! The area we live in does not have particularly high rates of infection but neighbouring areas served by the same hospital do. I don't really no anything about TB or the vaccine so genuinely don't know what to do for the best. Does anyone have any advice?

If I decide to vaccinate DD then I am also wondering about my DS (9), he is not eligible for vaccination as we or our our parents do not originate from a country recognised as high risk. But as I understand it he won't get the vaccine when he is older.

So, should I get him vaccinated privately as I think he would be more likely to be infected than DD as he goes to a very ethnically diverse school with lots of children moving in and out from all over the world

I would read this information from the NHS

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/BCG/Pages/Introduction.aspx

as "No" - the vaccine is not very good in preventing infection, or pulmonary TB. It can prevent some severe TB complications, but it seems that experts are rather disenchanted with the current vaccine as well - see here:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21893541

I would tend to no.

Thanks for replying Catherina, have read the NHS blurb and will settle down and have a proper read of the journal paper.