BCG injection

[LanaJH3393]

Okay so, ive been pushing my doctor since the birth of my boy (who is 10 months) to get him a BCG. The doc said to me - we dont really give it to children of this ethnicity (im am white/british) i said to him "what do you mean. I want my child to have it so im asking for it" he put it for referrel but i never headd back. I went back a second time ( when he was 6 months ) and asked if anything was heard back about it and to his convinience it had ONLY been put for referrel THAT DAY..he then asked WHY i wanted it - i said that my daughter was given it when she was a baby so i want him to have the same. Hes reply was " yes but your daughter was born in london which they give automatically but my son was born in essex which they dont...so after battling the doc..he said i will send it for referrel (again) but they will probably say no. So i get a letter through yesterday saying he is going for his injection.....wait for it.....on his 1st birthday!! Im not complaining about what day its on as i fought so hard to get it in the first place. Has anyone else had problems with this?

Its not a standard vaccine unless you are in specific areas or at high risk. Neither of mine have had it

As poster above said - you only get it if in a high risk area or there's another reason your baby has a higher risk of getting TB. One of mine has had it and other not because they were born in different places.

You can always pay to get it done privately...

Standard rule now is due to a world shortage not everyone gets it. The irony in my situation was we are literally 2 streets away from a catchment area where children do get it (Kent vs London), even my HV said it made no sense. Regardless my DD was given it because she’s mixed race and her dad is from a country with TB (doesn’t even matter if he has visited the place...strange guidelines).

I am in London, and my youngest wasn’t offered it routinely. We don’t live in a high-risk context, and so he hasn’t had it (but my eldest did).

I paid for ir privately for my DS. He's wasn't included in the NHS scheme as he's white British but we were living in Newham, east London at the time, with a high rate of TB. I was scared about taking him out and about without it.

It cost £100 but in my view was totally worth it for peace of mind.

He's right as you aren't in a high risk community (in terms of having contact with people from certain countries where there is a high prevalence or in terms of where you live). But no harm in asking. Otherwise if they say no, you just have to go private. But at the same time, there are babies who are at high risk who do need to have it and a vaccine given to your dc mean that baby may not get theirs on time and be at greater risk.

That said, I would truly not stress about it too much unless you know your dc is at increased risk from a relative or other direct contact regularly. I have worked in developing countries directly with people with HIV and TB and in some cases without access to universal precautions (no gloves, no face masks, etc.). And I have lived in these same communities with high rates of TB for 6 months to a year at a time. I've surely been exposed many times and I have never gotten TB. I continue to work with people who have HIV and TB (though no longer travel to developing countries), but have contact with them at meetings and clinics in more developed countries and I've never gotten my kids vaccinated. The risk really is relatively small unless you are in particular risk groups or are immunocompromised. So I would try not to stress about it. If you really want it though, the right thing is to go private and sort it yourself.

Ffs just pay for it if you want it. It will save you time and the NHS a lot of money by the sounds of it. No need to 'fight' for it or make yourself out to be some kind d of martyr. It's not essential for your baby because they he is not in an at risk group (e.g. Doesn't have relatives visiting from overseas countries with high rates/ live in an outbreak area like London). I didn't have it at all until my late teens when I began travelling overseas because it had been eradicated in the country where I grew up. Both my children had it at birth because their grandparents go back and forth from a third world country. We've paid for all the vaccines that we wanted that theNHScobsidered unnecessary.