Government dismisses petition for universal access to meningitis B vaccine

The government has responded to a petition calling for the meningitis B vaccine to be provided to all children by saying the plan would not be a good use of NHS resources.

Nearly 810,000 signatures have been recorded by the online petition, which is requesting that all children at least up to the age of 11 be vaccinated, rather than the government's strategy of only immunising newborns between the ages of two and five months.

Because the petition has passed more than 100,000 signatures, the matter will be considered for a parliamentary debate, but the government's official response to the movement suggests that no change in policy will be forthcoming.

The current guidelines are based on the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which reviewed all available evidence before it advised on eligibility for the Bexsero vaccine.

It was decided that immunisation should be routinely offered only to the group of children at the highest risk, as this represents the best use of limited NHS finances.

The government statement said: "Offering the vaccine outside of JCVI's advice would not be cost-effective, and would not therefore represent a good use of NHS resources which should be used to benefit the health and care of the most people possible."