Parents of meningitis victims set to tell MPs why they should extend vaccination – after 823,000 petition signatures

Little Faye Burdett, just two, passed away in February this year after just two days in hospital, after an eleven-day battle with meningitis. Her heartbroken parents, Jenny and Neil, pleaded online that their little girl’s death not be in vain, and a petition to raise vaccination age soon gained momentum.

And it pulled in 823,000 signatures (the most signed petition in parliamentary history), and now parents of other children who have suffered from the life-threatening disease, are set to make their case for raising the age limit on the jab.

In September 2015, babies born after July 1 that year were offered the vaccination as part of their routine immunisation schedule. While great for newborns, older children such as late Faye continue to be excluded from this immunity.

For more information on the symptoms, see HERE.

This decision came down to the government’s advisory committee, who said it wouldn’t be cost effective for the NHS to branch beyond this. At present, each meningitis B vaccination jab comes in at £75, which includes the 3 shots required.

And now father-of-two Lee Booth – who set up the petition after his daughter was refused her jab due to her age – has hit back saying it's ‘putting a price’ on a child’s life.

MPs on the Commons Health and Petitions Committee will listen to parents, charities members and advisors next Tuesday who put forward their case, which argues that the long term cost of treating sufferers could be avoided if more are offered the jab.

Speaking to the BBC, Claire Timmins who tragically lost her boy Mason to meningitis B, said:

"Anybody can get meningitis B, not just babies. Mason was seven, adults can get it. It's important children are vaccinated against it. What price can you put on a child's life?

"We need to carry on the fight for all those children who have lost a life or suffered."

A Department of Health spokesman however told the BBC: "We understand people's concerns and all vaccination programmes are kept under constant review but we have to be guided by the very best scientific advice and we will continue to protect the children who are most at risk."

But charity Meningitis Now have hit back with stats and figures that show why it would be benificial to raise the age, such as 59 per cent of meningitis B cases occurring in children under five years old, and only 26 per cent of the total cases being in under ones.

For more information of Meningitis B, read:

Meningitis B: Everything you need to know

Meningitis: Symptoms in babies and young children

Meningitis: Warning signs, symptoms, rashes, and more