Meningitis B petition now most signed in parliamentary history

Last Updated: February 21, 2016By

A vaccine to protect against meningitis B is available on the NHS for babies aged two months, followed by a second dose at four months and a booster at 12 months [Image: David Cheskin/PA]

This Writer knows people whose lives have been blighted by meningitis B – undoubtedly many readers of This Blog will, as well.

So I support any move that is likely to reduce infection.

The Parliamentary debate should be interesting.

With so many people having signed the petition, is this something on which we can all agree?

The man behind the most signed online petition in parliamentary history has said he is overwhelmed by the response to the campaign to give all children the meningitis B vaccine.

More than 640,000 people have now signed the petition set up by Lee Booth, beating the one organised to ban US presidential hopeful Donald Trump from the UK.

Booth, 44, said it would now be difficult for the government to ignore the groundswell of support to vaccinate all children up to at least the age of 11. He launched the petition last September after one of his two young daughters was deemed too old to have the vaccine on the NHS.

The campaign attracted about 900 signatures until two-year-old Faye Burdett, from Maidstone, Kent, caught the infection and died after 11 days on Valentine’s Day. A flood of support followed after a picture of Faye covered in a rash and lying in a hospital bed just before she died was shared by her family.

As the petition has now gained more than 100,000 signatures, a committee of MPs must decide whether a debate will be held in parliament. The magnitude of the response makes it very likely that it will.

Source: Meningitis B petition now most signed in parliamentary history | Society | The Guardian

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No Comments

  1. mohandeer February 21, 2016 at 6:23 pm - Reply

    Got no kids of my own but saw the Mirror article after little chap died, so sad and so unnecessary.

  2. David Penson February 21, 2016 at 11:49 pm - Reply

    I lost my hearing in the left Ear due to this infection when I was twelve years old and was lucky to escape with just that.
    The virus is often transmitted by farmyard pigs and not many people realise that.
    This vaccination should have been compulsory many years ago , so thank you for bringing this to public attention by starting this petition. David Penson Bracknell

  3. Malcolm MacINTYRE-READ February 22, 2016 at 7:54 pm - Reply

    I totally agree, but am also sickened (again) by the fact that any hope of getting a reversal of, or agreement to desperately needed public health treatments takes a petition to wake JH & the NHS up to their duty to UK citizens.

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