Meningitis B is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the UK. Two-year old Faye Burdett passed away from Meningitis B after being rushed to the hospital with a rash on her forehead and given a 1% chance of survival. Her story sparked outrage over the current age limit of 2-5 years old for the Meningitis B vaccine in the UK. A petition to extend vaccination to all children up to age 11 gained over 750,000 signatures, far surpassing the thresholds requiring a government response and parliamentary debate. However, vaccinating all children would be very costly as the vaccine, Bexsero, is expensive.

1. Meningitis B Vaccine

2. Meningitis B is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the UK and Ireland. The first
Meningitis vaccine was introduced in 1992, for HIB Meningitis, and without vaccines, Meningitis
cannot be prevented.

3. On February 14th 2016, Faye Burdett of just two years old passed away of Meningitis B.
Eleven days before she was rushed to hospital after her parents found a rash on her forehead.
She was given a 1% survival chance after already being revived once, however, after a full leg
and arm amputation, and her body being consumed by blood poisoning, instead of risking a
massive operation, her parents left her to sleep in peace.

4. Fayes story sparked a national outrage in regards to the current age for which children can be
given the Meningitis B Vaccine (currently for new-borns between 2 and 5 years old).
A petition, which prior to Fayes story only had 900 signatures, has now reached over 759,000
signatures, becoming the most signed online petition in parliamentary history. With over 10,000
signatures, the government have to respond, and with over 100,000 signatures, parliament
must debate. The proposals within this petition are to rollout a programme to vaccinate all
children up to eleven years old. However, the drug Bexsero, which is used for the vaccine, is said
to be extremely costly, therefore it would not be possible to vaccinate all children.
However, if money was took out of, say, Trident, or the bombing in the Middle- East, then
perhaps money could be used for saving our own future generation.