What should I do if I was not vaccinated with BCG at birth?

The Kajie vaccine is a very important vaccine, mainly used to prevent the occurrence of tuberculosis. Generally, children under three months old need to be vaccinated with this vaccine. However, in daily life, some families do not vaccinate their children for various reasons. As a result, the children will definitely lack antibodies in their bodies. So, what should we do if our baby was not vaccinated with BCG at birth? Let’s take a look at the remedial measures below.

The significance of vaccination

BCG vaccination can make children resistant to tuberculosis, especially greatly reducing the incidence of miliary tuberculosis and tuberculous meningitis. It can also be used as an adjuvant treatment for tumors, as a treatment for asthmatic bronchitis, and to prevent colds in children.

Vaccination target

Infants under 3 months old or children with negative 5IUPPD test. (48 to 72 hours after the PPD test, local nodules below 5 mm are considered negative)

If the birth weight of the newborn is less than 2500 grams, the baby is premature, or the baby suffers from severe asphyxia or aspiration pneumonia at birth, the BCG vaccination should be postponed. The baby can only be vaccinated after the body recovers and meets the vaccination requirements.

Immunization schedule and dosage

Add 0.5 ml of the attached diluent to the BCG vaccine for 1.5 people, let it stand for about 1 minute, shake it to dissolve and mix it thoroughly. The vaccine must be used within half an hour after it is dissolved.

2. Use a sterile 1ml blue-core syringe (25-26 gauge needle) to draw up the evenly spread vaccine and inject 0.1ml intradermally slightly below the middle of the deltoid muscle on the outside of the left upper arm.

1. Common adverse reactions

(l) About 2 weeks after vaccination, local redness, swelling and infiltration may occur. If it then turns into suppuration, a small ulcer will form, which will usually scab over after 8 to 12 weeks. Generally no treatment is required, but attention should be paid to local cleaning to prevent secondary infection.

(2) Those with pustules, superficial ulcers and secondary infections should go to the hospital for treatment by a doctor. For the former, apply 1% gentian violet and let it dry and form a scab. For the latter, sprinkle anti-inflammatory powder on the wound surface. Do not drain pus or remove the scab on your own.

(3) If the diameter of local abscesses and ulcers exceeds 10 mm or does not heal for a long time (more than 12 weeks), timely diagnosis and treatment should be given.

(4) Lymph node reaction: The axillary lymph nodes on the inoculated side (a few are supraclavicular or contralateral axillary lymph nodes) may be slightly swollen, generally not exceeding 10 mm, and disappear after 1 to 2 months. If local lymph nodes become swollen, softened and form pustules, timely diagnosis and treatment should be sought.

(5) A transient fever reaction may occur after vaccination. Most of them are mild fever reactions, which will resolve on their own after 1 to 2 days and generally do not require treatment. For moderate fever reactions or fever duration exceeding 48 hours, symptomatic treatment can be given.

(1) Severe lymph node reaction: clinically divided into caseous, abscess type, sinus type, etc. If there is a strong reaction in the lymph nodes near the vaccination site, such as in the armpits, above and below the clavicle, or in the neck, and the local lymph nodes swell and soften to form pustules, timely diagnosis and treatment should be given.

(2) Keloids are occasionally seen during re-implantation.

3. Extremely rare adverse reactions

(l) Osteomyelitis.

(2) Allergic rash and allergic purpura.