Flintshire County Council Cabinet backs petition to extend age range for Meningitis B vaccinations

Flintshire County Council cabinet has thrown its weight behind a petition asking the Government to vaccinate all children up to at least the age of 11 against Meningitis B.

The petition is now the most signed in parliamentary history with over 820,000 signatures, has overtaken the 560,000 people who called for US presidential hopeful Donald Trump to be barred from the UK.

Any petition which gains more than 100,000 signatures must go before a Commons Petitions Committee at Westminster, the committee has already held two ‘expert’ evidence sessions into the Meningitis B extension.

With such a groundswell of public support MP’s will now debate the matter in Parliament.

At a Flintshire County Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, councillors committed their support to an extension of the vaccination programme to all children up to the age of 11 as outlined in the petition.

A vaccination programme for babies to protect against infection by meningococcal group B bacteria, which can cause meningitis and septicaemia -blood poisoning, was introduced in the UK in September 2015.

The NHS vaccine programme is the first national, and publicly funded programme in the World.

Babies aged two months receive the vaccine, followed by a second dose at four months and a booster at 12 months.

Parents who wish to have older children vaccinated must pay privately, although a worldwide shortage of the vaccine Bexsero means stocks are very low.

The parents of Faye released a photo of their stricken daughter lying in a hospital bed to help to raise awareness about the deadly condition

The petition was launched following the tragic death of Faye Burdett from Maidstone who was just two-year-old, she lost her battle against meningitis on Valentine’s day this year after fighting the infection for 12 days.

The parents of Faye released a photo of their stricken daughter lying in a hospital bed to help to raise awareness about the deadly condition.

British firm GlaxoSmithKline charges £75 for a dose of its Meningitis B vaccine, but its estimated to cost the NHS gets around £20 after discounts.