BCG vaccination assessment form

Babies or children less than five years of age are eligible for BCG vaccination if they meet the following criteria:

• they will be living in a house or family/whānau with a person with either current TB or a history of TB 
• they have one or both parents or household members or carers who, within the last 5 years, lived for a period of 6 months or longer in countries with a TB rate ≥ 40 per 100,000 
• during their first 5 years they will be living for 3 months or longer in a country with a TB rate ≥ 40 per 100,000.

• The Ministry of Health does not recommend a catch-up programme for older children who met the criteria over the period the vaccine was unavailable.
• Parents or caregivers may request BCG vaccination for such children. These requests should be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure they meet the above criteria, and children under the age of one year should be prioritised.
• If the child is aged 6 months or older they should have a pre-vaccination tuberculin skin test to detect whether they have already been infected, with vaccination only being given if the child is uninfected.

• BCG parent and health professional information resources are available and can be ordered from www.healthed.govt.nz - search for “BCG”.
• Chapter 20 of the Immunisation Handbook
• The data sheet for the vaccine is online
• The Ministry will be publishing a technical document on the administration of Mantoux tuberculin skin testing as part of the updated TB Guidelines. When available, it can be found here. 
• If you have any further questions, please contact the Ministry’s Immunisation Team at immunisation@moh.govt.nz