New hope for Meningitis B vaccine for young children

It comes after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a Department of Health independent departmental expert committee, concluded that 'additional analyses' of the cost-effectiveness of the vaccination and its potential impact on the disease were required.

The decision, published in the minutes of a meeting held by the committee last month, has given meningitis-focused campaign groups hope that some 1,800 annual cases of the disease among children in the UK could be prevented.

In July, the JCVI recommended against introducing the Bexsero® vaccination, because it said it would not be cost-effective. The European Commission licensed the vaccine in January.

The Meningitis Research Foundation’s (MRF) head of research and medical information, Linda Glennie, said she hoped research and evidence submitted to the JCVI by MRF and other organisations would be enough to persuade the committee.

'We’re very hopeful this will make a difference but we’re not convinced we’ve got nothing to worry about,' she said. 'We’re going to have to keep the campaigning up and keep asking questions of the committee.'

'When you’re looking at introducing a vaccine, you have to consider whether it will be cost-effective and how effective it’s likely to be against the disease.

'There are a lot of questions when you try to do an economic analysis, such as how much does it cost the NHS and how does it affect the lives of people that have it. These are the things that we particularly felt had been underestimated.'

MRF estimates that between five and ten percent of children who contract Meningitis B will die from it. About half of cases are among younger children aged under-five, and three per cent may end with a child having a limb amputated.

Ms Glennie suggested if the committee decided to approve the vaccination, it was unlikely to be introduced until at least late 2014.