The Ulster Unionist Party’s Health Spokesperson, Roy Beggs, has said that it is ‘hugely disappointing’ that a vaccine which is widely believed could protect many from the killer meningitis B disease has not been recommended for wider adoption in the UK.

 The East Antrim MLA said;

“Meningitis is one of those illnesses which all parents fear.  Babies, children under 5 and young people aged 14-24 are all especially at risk. Meningitis B is a particularly vicious disease which kills 1 in 10 people who contract it and leaves one in four survivors with life changing effects such as brain damage or a loss of limbs.

Anything which can be done to offer protection should be found and investigated as a matter of absolute priority.

A vaccine exists, Bexsero, which tests have shown to provide 73% protection against meningitis B but it is currently not available in the UK.  

Following a decision by the European Commission earlier this year to approve Bexsero for use in individuals from 2 months of age and older the UK’s advisory body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), began evaluating the drug for potential adoption into our national immunisation program.

Unfortunately the JCVI have now reported that the meningitis B vaccine should not be introduced. Whilst the decision is regrettable, I do believe that some hope at least can be taken from the fact that it was rejected on economic grounds rather than medical”.

Director of Immunisation Professor David Salisbury is quoted as saying:   “This is a very difficult situation where we have a new vaccine against Meningitis B but we lack important evidence. We need to know how well it will protect, how long it will protect and if it will stop the bacteria from spreading from person to person. We need to work with the scientific community and the manufacturer to find ways to resolve these uncertainties so that we can come to a clear answer.”

The Ulster Unionist Health spokesman said, “I appreciate that because no other country has yet adopted the Meningitis B vaccine, Bexsero, the full extent of the effectiveness is as of yet unknown. However, the question must be asked why is government not carrying out a large scale pilot to protect against the ravages of the disease and enable the Department of Health to find additional data on the cost effectiveness that it is seeking. It is not possible to put a cost on this life threatening and debilitating disease.  Surely more must be done by government. There can be no price placed on the value of a vaccine which could potentially protect hundreds of our young people.”