TB jab not given due to funding shortfall

NEWBORN babies in Cork are not being automatically vaccinated against TB — even though BCG vaccination jabs are on the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) recommended childhood vaccine schedule.

The disclosure came amid concerns over a rise in TB figures. In every other county, newborn babies receive the anti-TB jab at maternity hospitals or within three months of birth.

For the past few years, the HSE (Southern Area) and its predecessor, the Southern Health Board, applied to the central HSE office and the Department of Health for approximately €1 million in funding to extend the service to Cork. The money was not forthcoming.