BCG vaccine

American

noun

Immunology.

a vaccine made from weakened strains of tubercle bacilli, used to produce immunity against tuberculosis.

BCG vaccine Scientific

/ bē′sē-jē′ /

A preparation used to immunize individuals against tuberculosis, consisting of attenuated live human tubercle bacilli (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

Etymology

Origin of BCG vaccine

1925–30; B(acillus) C(almette-)G(uérin)

Example Sentences

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BCG vaccine

The BCG vaccine given to newborns in many parts of the developing world to prevent tuberculosis also seems to have a systemic immune response that helps prevent infant mortality from other infections, says Topham.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

Indeed, there’s evidence to suggest it may have been a mistake to stop administering the smallpox vaccine after the total elimination of smallpox, or to end the BCG vaccine as tuberculosis infection became rare.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2025

"We know that in people who are naïve to BCG vaccine, the off-target effects can take at least two years to achieve full protection," said Faustman.

From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024

Experts also point out that a 17-year-long BCG vaccine trial held between 1968 and 1987 - involving more than 280,000 people in Tamil Nadu state - ended with disappointing results.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024

But the BCG vaccine does not work equally well in everyone!

From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2023

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023