Why did the BCG Jab & “flower” Test stop?

🤔 BCG “flower” tests & BCG vaccine – part of the fabric of UK childhood. Why did we need a pre-test, and why did they stop the BCG Jab? 

❕These are important questions, and some lessons in history if we care to not repeat poor unnecessary decisions.

Pro- and Anti- Vaxxers, listen up. 👂🏼

I had my BCG vaccine in 1995. Meanwhile, Michelle was spared due to the skin test “flower”. No TB in sight for us, our family, or anyone we know. Were ALL parents and teenagers sold a false bill of goods, with a scars to boot? 🤔

Did it cause issues that I assumed were just me, or puberty? Skin issues that have persisted my whole life. 🤷🏻‍♂️

P.S. who saw the news in October suggested the BCG jab may protect us against SARS CoV2 infection? 🤦🏻‍♂️

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TEST & JAB

🚫 The BCG Heaf Test (flower test), was terminated in 2005, along with terminating the BCG child vaccination programme. For reasons of in effectiveness and cost.

🌸 Do you remember it? The flower shape pattern prior to your BCG jab?

💉 The BCG vaccine was introduced into the UK schedule in 1953. At first it was offered to children of 14 years of age as TB was most common in young adults at this time.

📉 Rates of TB in the UK were ALREADY FALLING (~50K) at time of introduction, and they continued to fall after the vaccine was introduced. 🤔

Curiously, cases of TB rose in the UK from around 5,000 in 1987 to almost 7,000 in 2005. In 2018, there were 4,655 TB cases.

👆🏼 It’s almost as if TB followed its own path based in herd immunity and personal health/hygiene, independent of the vaccine. 🤔

🙉 There have been a number of controversies concerning the prevention of TB, and one of these has been concerning the efficacy or effectiveness of the BCG vaccine. 

😲 In various clinical trials the estimates of effectiveness have ranged from 80% protection to no benefit (0%), and the reasons for these differences are still not clearly understood.

The history of the BCG vaccine is still not over…

WHY THE TUBERCULIN SKIN TEST?

Before you have the BCG vaccination, they would test to see if you’re already infected with or have active TB disease.

🧬 The test, called the tuberculin skin test or Mantoux test (previously the Heaf test) assesses your sensitivity to a substance called a tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) when it’s injected into your skin.

🦠 The above protein uniquely features in the BCG live attenuated bacteria with the BCG vaccine. So, greater the reaction, the more likely it is that an individual is infected with or has active TB.

❌ In this case, the individual should not have the BCG vaccine, as it would have NO CLINICAL BENEFIT and may cause unpleasant SIDE EFFECTS.

SO, WHY UNIVERSAL COVID-19 VACCINATION?

❓Surely, the same rules should apply?

❓If you’ve already been infected with SARS CoV2, surely it is both more cost/resource efficient and safer to NOT give a #covid vaccine?

❓What’s different?

❓Why is ADE not a concern? Why is Vaccine- Associated Virus Interference a concern?

❓What about all the questions UNANSWERED in our prior post (linked below👇🏼)?

Lots of questions with no good genuine public health answers. Great…

#InformedChoice #DoYourOwnResearch

• 🟡 UNANSWERED IMPORTANT VACCINE QUESTIONS

The Original Facebook Post