If a 9 months old child who was previously unvaccinated with BCG came to Egypt from abroad, can he take the BCG vaccine now?

      Yes. Any child who wasn’t previously vaccinated with BCG can take the vaccine but after undergoing a Tuberculin test first and the result is negative. The Tuberculin test can be done for any child older than 6 months. The child can take the vaccine without the testing if under 6 months.

Can BCG be harmful?

    Abscesses at the site of BCG injection are frequently reported. It is often assumed that this is due to bad technique, as the injection should be given intradermally and accidental subcutaneous or intramuscular injection may result. Proximal lymph node swelling and abscess formation may rarely occur. If the injection is given intradermally at the correct site, over insertion of Deltoid in the upper arm, the swelling will develop in the axillary lymph nodes.

Very rarely indeed, disseminated BCG disease may result in  immunocompromised infant. This is usually fatal. For this reason BCG should not be given to immunocompromised individuals.