Meningitis B Vaccine
Debate between Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Ben Howlett(8 years, 7 months ago)
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Ben Howlett
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and my condolences go to Mia’s family, because obviously anybody who is lost to this tragic disease is a loss overall, and it is horrendous what Mia’s family have had to go through; I have seen that with the family of my own constituent, and as MPs no doubt we have all seen that. There is a question around age, and I will come on to that shortly. Like Mia’s family, Lee Booth is calling for the Government to extend vaccinations up to the age of 11, and I think that we need to review some of the evidence today.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on leading this very important debate. I have been involved in this campaign for a considerable while. Does he agree that there is not an issue about the safety of the drug, because it is very safe—we know that because it has been used very safely on students in American universities—and that it is simply an issue of cost?
Ben Howlett
I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention; I am aware of his work in championing this cause, which he has done for a while. I very much hope that the Minister will consider that point when she makes her summation.
Although it is quite difficult for all of us as MPs to say this, throughout this debate we must of course keep at the back of our minds the fact that the NHS has finite resources. Everything that the NHS provides has an element of cost to it, and a life cost-benefit, too. However, along with many other Members, I worry that the long-term benefits of childhood vaccination and the life chances that vaccination can give to so many children are not being considered as much as they should be.