Government rejects meningitis vaccine petition signed by 815,000 people.

The Government has rejected a petition signed by 815,000 people calling for the meningitis B vaccine to be given to children of all ages.

The petition became the most-signed in UK parliamentary history.

A statement said, ‘Offering the vaccine … would not be cost effective, and would not therefore represent a good use of NHS resources.’

The current MenB vaccine, Bexsero, was introduced in September last year – and only children born after July 1 2015 are eligible.

The Department of Health said said its priority was to vaccinate those children considered most at risk from meningitis B.

It pointed out it was following guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the Government on the cost-effectiveness of vaccinations.

The statement said: ‘With this programme, our priority is to protect those children most at risk of Men B, in line with JCVI’s recommendation.

‘The NHS budget is a finite resource. It is therefore essential that JCVI’s recommendations are underpinned by evidence of cost-effectiveness.

‘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.

‘While this is extremely difficult for parents whose children aren’t eligible, there is no other way of establishing new programmes to target those at highest risk without introducing inequalities.’