The BCG vaccine, which protects against tuberculosis, is one of the standard vaccines given here in Ireland, usually a day or two after birth, while the baby is still in hospital. However, there is a Europe-wide shortage, and so my twins (6 weeks 3 days old now) haven't gotten it yet. Due to the shortage of vaccine, I mentioned the BCG at the babies 6 week check-up at the GPs, also because once we move to the USA in a year or two, apparently they will need an x-ray when joining school etc if they have been vaccinated against TB, because on the standard TB test, they will show up as positive due to the vaccine. The doctor suggested I may not want to have them vaccinated with the BCG, because apparently it doesn't always work, and with us moving to the USA, where the vaccine is not given as standard, it may not be worth the hassle- if they get the inoculation before 12 weeks they can just get the shot, but if they are older than 12 weeks when the vaccine becomes available, it'll be three visits (one for a TB test, back next day to check results, than back a few days later for the actual vaccine).

I am normally pro-vaccinations (planning to give all the standard inoculations), but now I am not sure about the BCG... my current thinking is to give it anyway, as TB is such as bad disease, but I am doing more research. Was hoping for some opinions from you guys here

Well, we discussed it with a couple of friends in the USA who are in the medical profession as well as our GP here (who said there are very few TB cases in Dublin, so chances of exposure are minimal), and have decided not to give the BCG.

BCG has long been more common in Europe than in he US. The prevailing opinion among American doctors is against BCG in order to preserve the validity of tuberculin skin testing, which is the mainstay of surveillance and treatment.

Here's a 1996 report from the CDC: The Role of BCG Vaccine in the US. They recommend it mainly for those exposed to high-risk environments, especially in the case of children and health care workers.

I have a friend who attended U of Illinois Medical School (Chicago) in the early 1970s, where they vaccinated the entire freshman class, but I think that was unusual even for that setting.