The Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) yesterday announced it would from Jan. 1 next year recommend that babies receive a Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination against tuberculosis at between five and eight months of age, a postponement from its current guidance of 24 hours after birth.
Centers physician Chan Pei-chun (詹珮君) said the prevalence of tubercular meningitis has dropped by nearly 40 percent in the past decade.
Centers data show that the babies who developed serious adverse reactions following the injection were all under four months old, Chan said, adding that of more than 1 million babies vaccinated in recent years, adverse reactions were reported in between 50 and 100, with last year having the most cases.
In order to reduce the chances of serious adverse reactions, the centers studied the policies of other countries and decided to postpone the recommendation for when a baby is vaccinated to between five and eight months old — as is the case in Japan, she said.
Although the prevalence rate of tuberculosis has fallen in Taiwan, the disease still had a prevalence rate of 48 per 100,000 people last year, which is still above the barrier of the WHO standard for recommending no vaccination needed, she said.
Chan advised parents to remember to get their babies vaccinated, especially if they are planning to visit countries where tuberculosis is more prevalent — for example in Southeast Asia.
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