David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to meet Mr and Mrs Timmins to discuss the death in 2013 of their son from meningitis B and the future provision of a vaccine for that disease on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Meningococcal B (MenB) disease is a devastating disease which can have tragic consequences. We understand that in March 2014 Mr and Mrs Timmins met consultants at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust to discuss their son’s care following his tragic death in December 2013.

In September 2015, we became the first country in the world to offer a national and publicly funded MenB immunisation programme using the Bexsero vaccine to protect infants. The programme follows the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the independent, expert body which advises Government on all immunisation matters. Infants are vaccinated at two months of age, with further doses offered when they reach four and 12 months of age, thereby protecting groups with the highest risk.