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In accordance with the Finnish national vaccination program, children under 7 at an increased risk of tuberculosis infection are entitled to free BCG vaccination. More information is available on the National Institute for Health and Welfare website.
The BCG vaccination is given to neonates who belong to the risk groups in the hospitals of Lohja and Hyvinkää before being discharged.
Babies born in the Women's Hospital and Espoo Hospital are vaccinated once the results of the SCID screening are available. From 15 July 2019 onward, SCID screening is performed on babies born in the Women's Hospital and Espoo Hospital, in addition to other screening tests for rare congenital diseases. SCID is an inherited condition in which the body’s immune system is impaired. As a result, the child’s immune system’s ability to defend itself against infections is compromised. Due to the immunodeficiency, the child must not be administered live, attenuated vaccines (BCG, rotavirus, MMR or chickenpox vaccines). Therefore, the BCG vaccine is given only if it has been proven that the child does not have SCID.
Babies belonging to the risk group born in the Women's Hospital or Espoo Hospital are administered the BCG vaccine at a separate appointment. The results of the screening are available in approximately two weeks and the vaccine is administered if the SCID result is normal.
From 1 August 2019 onward, neonates belonging to a risk group are given the BCG vaccine as follows:
The staff of the maternity ward will schedule an appointment for the vaccination before discharge. If a vaccination appointment has not been scheduled for a child, but they belong to a risk group, please contact the units specified above. You can also contact maternity wards in: