Drug reference directory
Drug reference

bcg vaccine

live attenuated vaccine · vaccine

live attenuated vaccinevaccine
CDSCO approved
EXCRETION
—
not curated
INTERACTIONS
—
none in our sources
PREGNANCY
—
not curated

Mechanism

The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine uses a live attenuated bovine bacillus strain, Mycobacterium bovis, which has lost its ability to cause severe disease in humans, to protect against severe forms of disseminated tuberculosis.

Indications

prevention of severe disease due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB)

Dosing

Pediatric
typically given as a single intradermal dose, often to infants near the time of birth

Related guidelines

Other live attenuated vaccine drugs

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Textbook-sourced·Sources: Goodman & Gilman 14e·Updated: 2026-05-10