‘We shall not find salvation in inoculation’: BCG vaccination in Scandinavia, Britain and the USA, 1921–1960

BCG vaccination against tuberculosis was discovered in France in 1921. It was soon adopted with great enthusiasm in Scandinavia. By contrast, it was not introduced into Britain until around 1950 and was never used on a large scale in the USA. This article discusses the debates surrounding the efficacy and safety of BCG in the period 1921–1960 and the reasons for the very different responses in Scandinavia, Britain and the USA. It argues that while the debates centred on the scientific value of BCG, they were underpinned by ideological differences and different approaches to disease prevention and health and welfare policies.