What is the BCG vaccination programme?
• The BCG immunisation increases a person’s immunity to TB and protects against the most severe forms of disease such as TB meningitis. • The schools’ programme nationally has been replaced by targeted immunisation of children at increased risk of TB. • The main recommendations for routine BCG vaccination of children are now: infants (aged 0 to 12 months) living in areas with a high incidence of TB (40/100,000 or greater), and any children with a parent or grandparent born in a high incidence country. • Local arrangements exist to opportunistically identify, test and immunise those children at increased risk of TB who will no longer be offered BCG immunisation through the schools’ program.
