Protect ‘children against deadly bug’

MENINGITIS charities have repeated their call for all children to be vaccinated against a bug that can cause the disease and other life-threatening illnesses.

The Meningitis Research Foundation and Meningitis Trust say the pneumococcal vaccine, which can prevent pneumonia, septicaemia and a strain of meningitis, should be automatically included in the national childhood immunisation programme.

However, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, which considers the usefulness of new vaccines on the market, has yet to give the go-ahead for it to be made available.