Plans to discontinue infant's universal vaccination against TB under discussion

A proposal to discontinue universal vaccination against tuberculosis and instead switch to selective vaccination will be put to public consultation from Wednesday.

According to reports, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) have initiated a six-week consultation period which will examine proposed changes to the BCG vaccination programme.

These changes would see the removal of a blanket vaccination for all newborns in order to provide high-risk infants with the jab, meaning the number of vaccinated infants would drop from 61,000 per year to just 8,000.

Despite incidence of TB declining over recent decades, Ireland is one of only two Western European countries who continue to provide a universal jab.

The change, which will reduce the number of children experiencing adverse reactions to the vaccination, has been advised by the national immunisation and national TB advisory committees.

Commenting on the motivation behind the proposal, director of health technology assessments for HIQA, Dr. Máirín Ryan said: "In the context of a falling incidence of TB, a shift in emphasis from protection by vaccination to prevention may be appropriate."

Outlining the reasoning behind the proposed changes, Dr. Ryan continued: "In the context of a fall in TB incidence and diminished risk of acquiring TB, there has been a shift in the balance between the benefits and risks of offering vaccination to all infants."

The public consultation is due to last until October 21st.