A TOTAL of 454 infants in Gauteng have not yet undergone routine vaccination for tuberculosis (TB) because of a worldwide shortage of the Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Wednesday.Acting Gauteng health MEC Barbara Creecy confirmed the number in an oral reply to questions posed in the provincial legislature on Tuesday. Records were being kept so children could be vaccinated when supplies become available, DA provincial health spokesman Jack Bloom said on Wednesday.Gauteng has recently received 7,814 vials of the vaccine out of 42,000 allocated to all provinces, the DA said.SA has the world’s third-highest burden of TB, with about 860 cases per 100,000 population, according the World Health Organisation. In SA, the TB vaccine is usually given at birth, although if not given then, the vaccine should be given within the first year.The DA said on Wednesday that the global shortage dated back to January. It emanated from the faulty capping of a large ...
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