Overview

• The Health Ministry says the vaccine will be available across all public-sector health units at no cost as part of the National Vaccination Schedule.
• BCG protects against severe pediatric tuberculosis forms such as meningeal and miliary disease, with ideal administration at birth and a single-dose regimen that can be given up to age 14 when indicated.
• Officials attribute the earlier shortage to the manufacturer moving production in India, which triggered a new sanitary permit process and slowed deliveries to multiple states.
• Vaccination should be postponed or avoided in cases of allergy to components, fever over 38.5°C, certain skin lesions, leukemia or other cancers, immunosuppressive treatment, symptomatic HIV, ongoing tuberculosis medications, or newborns under 2 kilograms.
• For people previously vaccinated with BCG, experts recommend blood-based tuberculosis tests because the tuberculin skin test can yield false-positive results.