Meningitis: petition adds to pressure for vaccine for every child
A petition to extend the NHS Meningitis B immunisation programme to cover all children in the UK has attracted nearly 600,000 signatures, making it the most popular in modern parliamentary history.
The surge in signatures came after the devastating impact of the disease was highlighted by the death of two-year old Faye Burdett on Sunday and former England rugby star Matt Dawson documenting his toddler son’s battle with the disease.
The rush to sign the petition, in the wake of the two cases, was accompanied by a huge rise in the number of anxious parents contacting helplines, websites and private clinics in a bid to secure supplies of the vaccine.
By Friday afternoon, almost 600,000 people had added their names on parliament’s website to demand that children at least up to the age of 11 to be covered by the programme, which is currently limited to under-ones.
Sue Davie, chief executive of patient group Meningitis Now, which is supporting the Burdett family, acknowledged that it was an emotive issue that had built up a head of steam.
“Our support for the petition is to get the debate going,” she said. “There needs to be a debate. We don’t want to panic people because this is a rare disease. We need to always show a balance. But this is making people realise meningitis is still a problem. We’ve been inundated with calls and hits on the website, and that in itself will save lives.”
The immunisation programme, the first of its kind in the world, was launched in September and offered to all babies born on or after 1 July last year, with a “catch up” programme for babies born between 1 May and 30 June. Meningitis Now wants the catch-up to be extended to all under-fives, the most at risk group, (although the risk is highest for the under-ones subgroup). Babies starting the programme while less than six months old have three doses in total. Children older than six months need two doses, which can set parents back up to £400 in total in a private clinic.
But as clinics and pharmacies, including Boots, reported being inundated by calls from parents – clinic comparison site WhatClinic.com said inquiries about vaccines had soared by 700% in a week – they were unable to meet the demand because of a shortage. Vaccine manufacturer Glaxo Wellcome continues to supply the NHS but has asked private clinics not to start new courses of vaccination because of “unprecedented demand”, with the supply constraints unlikely to be resolved until June.
Notwithstanding whether there are enough supplies to expand the NHS programme immediately, scientists have cautioned that a decision should not be rushed into.
Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF), which campaigned alongside Meningitis Now for the vaccine to be introduce free of charge for under-ones, is among those yet to be convinced.
Head of research Linda Glennie, said that more details about its effectiveness were needed because it is brand new and could not be tested in a large cohort study because of the rarity of the disease. As such the UK’s immunisation programme, the first of its kind in the world, will provide the first test of real life effectiveness, she said.
“The vaccine is based on new technology,” said Glennie. “It’s predicted to cover between 73% and 88% of circulating strains in the UK but that is a prediction based on testing blood of people in trials in test tubes. That’s not the same as actually knowing it works. We need to look at the evidence.”
She said that there had been pressure from some of MRF’s members to support the petition.
“Some people will say ‘We know it’s not going to do any harm, why not vaccinate the whole world”, particularly if you’re the concerned parent,’ she said. “We would not tell people not to sign the petitions. We are just not able to make the case for policy makers [at present].”
Helen Bedford, senior lecturer in children’s health, at the Institute of Child Health, UCL,in London, said: “Decisions about which age group is offered any vaccine are based on the best scientific evidence about which age group will benefit most, and this includes issues of cost.”
The government is obliged to consider for debate any petition that attracts more than 100,000 signatures but the chair of the Commons health committee said it should not be railroaded into action.
Sarah Wollaston, a doctor and senior Tory MP, told “This is a very serious condition but if we’re to run vaccination policy purely on the size of a petition then we would run ourselves into very difficult territory.”
However, she added that there was a “case to review the formula that is used to weigh up cost effectiveness and I think that is what should now happen”.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “New immunisation programmes are always introduced based on the best independent clinical recommendations to ensure we can protect those children most at risk.”
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School Suspends All Vaccines After Multiple Students Started Collapsing After their Shots
An investigation was launched into vaccines used at a UK school for boys after several students fell ill from receiving the jabs.
As many as 15 students at the Northampton School for Boys collapsed onto the floor Tuesday following a series of vaccines which resulted in severe adverse side effects.
As one mother who preferred to remain anonymous described: “Several different vaccines were being administered, and around 10 to 15 pupils keeled over and paramedics were called.”
Children were also witnessed “on their backs on the floor with their legs up on chairs,” the mom said.
“The rest of the jabs were cancelled and a letter was sent home to the parents of pupils who had been given the jabs about what to do if they felt nauseous. Rumours say there may have been a duff batch of vaccines,” the woman said, according to the Daily Mail.
At least one child was sent to emergency care as a precaution, but was “later discharged with no further effects,” according to a letter sent home to parents.
The letter blamed “unforeseen circumstances” for the complications, and advised parents to monitor their child’s health, specifically looking for signs of dizziness, nausea or skin rash:
An investigation was launched into vaccines used at a UK school for boys after several students fell ill from receiving the jabs.
As many as 15 students at the Northampton School for Boys collapsed onto the floor Tuesday following a series of vaccines which resulted in severe adverse side effects.
As one mother who preferred to remain anonymous described: “Several different vaccines were being administered, and around 10 to 15 pupils keeled over and paramedics were called.”
Children were also witnessed “on their backs on the floor with their legs up on chairs,” the mom said.
“The rest of the jabs were cancelled and a letter was sent home to the parents of pupils who had been given the jabs about what to do if they felt nauseous. Rumours say there may have been a duff batch of vaccines,” the woman said, according to the Daily Mail.
At least one child was sent to emergency care as a precaution, but was “later discharged with no further effects,” according to a letter sent home to parents.
The letter blamed “unforeseen circumstances” for the complications, and advised parents to monitor their child’s health, specifically looking for signs of dizziness, nausea or skin rash:
“Dear Parent/Carer, please be advised the immunisation session your child attended today was suspended due to unforeseen circumstances,” the letter reads.
“Some of the vaccinated children have become unwell shortly after vaccination. Your child has received their scheduled vaccination and, while we are not expecting him to become unwell, we are advising if he experiences sensations of dizziness, nausea, skin rash, or breathing difficulties to seek the appropriate medical advice.”
UK public health officials responded that the illnesses which followed administration of the Meningitis ACWY vaccines were an “isolated incident” and not the result of a bad batch, indicating no further investigation is required and that the vaccine program will continue at a later date.
“Public Health England are satisfied this is an isolated incident and is not related to a batch issue of the vaccines,” a message disseminated by the Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust said in a statement. “NHFT School nursing team contacted all parents/carers to inform them of the situation providing assurances of the steps taken and will be rescheduling the vaccination programme in due course.”
As reported by Infowars last April, a nationwide UK meningococcal vaccine program has been launched, specifically targeting infants, despite vaccine inserts warning that “Safety and effectiveness… have not been established in children younger than 10 years of age.”
Additionally, side effects up to and including death have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System regarding meningococcal vaccines produced for serotypes A, C, Y and W-135.
The National Vaccine Information Center reports:
[A]s of September 30, 2015, the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), which includes only a small fraction of the health problems that occur after vaccination in the U.S., had recorded more than 1,846 serious health problems, hospitalizations and injuries following meningococcal shots, including 99 deaths with about 34% of the deaths occurring in children under age six.
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I would want to see the signitures to make sure that the persons really exist & personally investigate the circumstances of the those who signed.
where they paid ?
do they understan what they signed & why ?
I did not come down the last shower.