16 Benefits of Getting a BCG Vaccine

Bacille Calmette-Guerin or BCG is a vaccine for tuberculosis. People born in foreign countries should have the vaccine. Many countries have a high percentage of tuberculosis, so it is given to prevent military disease and childhood tuberculosis meningitis. In the United States, the BCG vaccine is not required because there is a low risk of getting tuberculosis. It is recommended that it only be given to certain persons who meet the criteria for getting the disease.

For instance, the vaccine should be given to children who have parents who are prone to tuberculosis. The child may get the disease, so getting the vaccine will help. Health care workers should only be given the vaccine if they are at risk.

The facility where they work may have a high rate of tuberculosis, so by getting the vaccine they won’t contract it. Here are eight benefits of getting a BCG vaccine that you need to be aware of.

1. Protects children from getting tuberculosis is one of the benefits of getting the BCG vaccine. 

The vaccine is given to children who live in countries where they could be exposed. Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease and needs to be prevented at all costs. Children can be exposed to tuberculosis by their parents. When a person sneezes or coughs, they may not cover their mouth. When this happens, the child has a higher rate of getting the disease. It is a good idea to get the BCG vaccine early.

That way the child doesn’t have to worry about getting the disease. If the child is at school, if another child happens to have tuberculosis, the parent doesn’t have to worry about their child being exposed to it.

The child needs to be checked often to see if they have tuberculosis, such as with a skin test. The skin test will show if the child has the disease or not.