UK 🇬🇧 BCG Jab

We were told if we lived 3 miles out we would be offered the BCG. I remember we were all given it at school I think because a teacher had TB. I guess it also depends on the people you mix with and the area you live in.

Get it. You only need to get it once. I’m Thai, my children are Thai but we’ve lived here 10 years+ and they were born here so always better to get them than not. Personal opinion is parents shouldn’t deny any vaccines if their baby can have them since they’re there for protections not the opposite. There will be side effects and that’s normal. TB is a serious disease, a 1% is still a chance.

Definitely get the jab, especially if family are frequenting Asia once a year.

I live overseas temporarily at the moment and it is offered to everybody (even though TB rates aren’t high). It wouldn’t be offered to my son in the U.K. and wasn’t offered to my first. We did a lot of research and decided to go for it. It’s much more effective when given as an infant than later in life. Even if my toddler had it now, he’d never be as covered as his baby brother. I’m not even sure my baby woke up when he had it 😅 and no side effects other than the injection site is sore looking for a while.

My baby was offered it because she has a Thai grandmother and I went ahead because I felt it’s better to be on the safe side, plus I am from a generation where we all had the injection at school. However, after it was done (she was 4 weeks and perhaps it was seeing her so upset getting the better of me), I did wonder if I should have done a little bit more research as it seems it’s mainly recommended if the child is going to spend an extended period in the country - we only go for holidays. The healing process can take a while too - my daughter’s took about 3 months to scab over and not sure how long it will take for the red mark to calm down. Part of me wonders if it’s offered as a preventative measure to keep TB rates low in the UK (which is great) - hence the parent/grandparent rule - rather than it actually being necessary for some babies. However as I said initially - I do feel it’s better to be safe than sorry!

I seriously don’t get the whole logic of offering or denying BCG vaccine based on where we live now. What if we live in Hampton atm but my child decides to move to Africa, Asia, wherever when he is 20? Or the other way around - are people not moving around in the world? Does everyone just stay in the neighborhood where they were born to? 🤯

I got my baby done as my in laws go to Pakistan every year.

I got my LO done at 6weeks I think and she just has a purple dot no bad reaction.

@Nattinan I understand you are saying parents shouldn’t deny jabs as from your perspective it’s offering protection, but you do realise that there is no such thing as a safe jab and parents who deny are also sharing the same sentiment that they do not want their child harmed, right?

@Michele it’s not that they are “unsafe”, it’s that each of us will react differently to them, some will experience similar side effects and others can experience the worst kind, so those will usually be advised to not take the vaccine. Side effects are normal because we are injecting live bacterias/virus into our body to trigger antibodies production in our immune system so it will always react in a certain way, that’s how our body works and the only way we can teach it to fight against these diseases. Any side effects expected are always listed and you will be told on what to look for. Vaccines do offer protection as when you compare these side effects to the actual disease like TB, a day fever is way less severe. it is my personal opinion, I’m not trying to convince you nor offend anyone that thinks differently. But TB is more common in Asia so you shouldn’t want to take the risk since it can do irreversible damage, especially in infants so vaccine is a safer risk to me.

And a final note to say that people don’t necessarily have to had TB to put you at risk for TB, they can be a carrier and there is no way you can know about it, until it’s too late. So, anyone in the family can be a carrier, the chances of contracting TB is completely unknown.

My LG was offered it as my husband is Indian and lived them from birth until 5 years old. We opted to get it as we didn't want to take the risk of him or his mum who we visit (lives in the UK as well) being unknown carriers. We might go to India at some point so both thought the benefits outweigh the risks. My LG was only 4 weeks when she had it done and slept through it weirdly!

TB is on the rise. I'd personally get it.

@Anita same. I was the first year to not receive the BCG. My mum tried to get me done at the GPs and they outright said that if I had been any other ethnicity but white I could have had it. My mum who was working on a TB ward at the time said some very snarkey things back before leaving. Still haven't had it done to this day and TB cases are rising scarily so they'll probably reintroduce it to everyone soon

My baby is half Indian and she had her BCG vaccine - compared to the other vaccines (she’s had all three rounds by now), there were no side effects. She cried a bit during the injection and she has a spot there now but that’s about it, no behavioural changes, fever or anything else afterwards. And she was very fussy after all the other vaccines!