Yorkshire mum urges Government to rethink meningitis policy

Coby Knighton was just 17 months old when he was diagnosed with meningitis and blood poisoning and had to be put into an induced coma by medical staff at Sheffield Children’s Hospital last March.

The youngster from Brampton Bierlow near Rotherham has made a strong recovery but his mother, Michaela Claydon has been told that Coby has suffered some brain damage, the extent of which will only become apparent as he grows and develops.

A new vaccine, Bexsero that will protect over 90 per cent of children from the potentially lethal disease is being rolled out nationally but is only available to babies under one-year-old because of the cost.

The decision to withhold the vaccine from older children has led to almost 700,000 people signing a petition on the Government’s website, making it the most-signed petition in Parliamentary history.

“I hope the Government listens and does the right thing by vaccinating all children against meningitis. No parent should have to go through what we’ve been through with Coby,” said Ms Claydon.

“It’s a terrible, terrible disease and one that is preventable. I hope as many people as possible go online and sign the petition because we have to get the Government to see sense.”

Coby was initially diagnosed with a viral infection by his GP after developing a rash and a temperature but when the rash spread he was rushed to Barnsley General Hospital where the family’s fears were confirmed.

He then spent three weeks in Sheffield Children’s Hospital and was initially given a 50 per cent chance of survival.

The number of signatories to the online petition has escalated in recent weeks since the family of Faye Burdett posted heartbreaking images of the two-year-old in her hospital bed earlier this month.

The toddler from Kent died on St Valentine’s Day just 11 days after contracting the infection.

Sue Davie, the chief executive of Meningitis Now, said: ““The response to Faye’s petition has been overwhelming. We are using our voice to support the petition to raise the profile of meningitis, keeping it high on the political agenda and increasing awareness among the public to prevent more lives being lost to this devastating disease.

“Although the introduction of the Men B vaccine on the childhood immunisation scheme for young babies was a momentous achievement, saving thousands of lives, there are still so many, like Faye, left unprotected.

“We continue to campaign to see the Men B vaccine rolled out, particularly to at risk groups to ensure a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis.”

Awareness of the tragic consequences of meningitis increased this week after a picture of seven-year-old Mason Timmins just minutes before his death in 2013 was published by his family. Mason died less than 24 hours after falling ill.

The online petition calls for the vaccine, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline to be made available for all children under 11.

Parents can have their children treated privately but GlaxoSmithKline are struggling to meet demand for the vaccine, and are hopijg to have more supplies available by the summer.

Cases of meningitis B are relatively rare but of the 1,200 cases reported annually, around 10 per cent are fatal with many others leading to permanent brain damage.

Michaela Claydon said: “Coby looks normal to us now but doctors have told us that the swelling causes by meningitis has left him brain damaged.

“In some ways he’s lucky because he survived but this could have been avoided. I know that money is tight for the Government but we are talking about the lives and health of babies and children.”

Now that the petition has received more than 100,000 signatures, a committee of MPs is to decide whether to debate the issue in Parliament.