Representative image of vaccine.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Bengaluru: Four months since its launch in Karnataka, the adult Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to eliminate tuberculosis has been administered to 4.11 lakh people in 16 districts.
The vaccine was administered as part of a programmatic study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The study focuses on people who have been treated for TB in the last five years, people in close contact with active TB patients, those with the Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 18, people with diabetes and people above 60 years of age.
The study, which began in April as part of the TB Mukth Bharata campaign, covered 16 districts.
These include Bagalkot, Belagavi, Bengaluru City, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Kolar, Uttar Kannada and Vijayapura.
“The study has proven to be effective and it will take three years to check if the vaccinated patients do not catch the infection,” according to Dr Anil S, Joint Director and State TB Officer for the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) in Karnataka.
‘Anti-vax sentiment’
One of the district TB officers said: “Since it is a study, we need to take people’s consent before administering the vaccine. However, after Covid-19, people have not been open to taking any vaccines though it is for their benefit. It’s difficult to convince them. There have been instances where people couldn’t be convinced.”
While the vulnerable population is 1.45 lakh, authorities have been able to inject only 28,000-29,000 due to ethical complications, he added.
Another district TB officer, also speaking anonymously, said: “Since it’s a study, people think they are being experimented with. There are instances when people have asked us if we think they are lab rats.”
According to data from the Health and Family Welfare Department, 78,356 people were affected with tuberculosis in 2024 and 42,524 in 2025 until July.
Terrain and mobility
In a few select districts, there are regions with different and difficult terrains that affected the efficiency of the campaign.
Dr Ravi Kumar M S, District TB Officer, Chamarajanagar, said: “Our district is mainly composed of hills and forest, which make the mobilisation of the vaccine difficult. Added to this is that the vaccine is heat-sensitive and needs to be stored between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.”
One vail of TB is safe for vaccination only for four hours after opening and can be used for up to 10 people.
“If in a community, there are fewer than 10 people or somebody has not given the consent, the vail goes to waste. We are trying to reduce wastage by taking a different trip to convince the people and pre-register them,” Dr Kumar said.