Meningitis Researcher Warns Government Over Putting Cost Ahead of Saving Lives

An expert, who worked nearly 5 years to find a preventive vaccination for pneumococcal meningitis only to see his 11-month old son die due to the same disease just a year before a vaccination was approved, warned that the British government now has a choice of either saving cost or saving lives. Oakhurst resident Scottie Kern, 39, had been part of the clinical research to try and find a cure for meningitis for the past 15 years but was unable to save his 11-month old son, who lost his life due to the pneumococcal meningitis.

Kern said that his son, Cailan, had been fully vaccinated according to the national schedule but missed out on Prevenar 13, which was only approved a few months after his death and which could have saved his life. Kern revealed that he himself had worked on developing the vaccination and urged the government not to delay the approval of vaccinations that are found to be safe and effective.

Kern added that the government now had a choice whether to approve a new preventive vaccination for meningitis. “The Government’s decision simply will mean that if they elect to, on the basis of cost, not incorporate it on the schedule children and adults will die”, he said.

Source-Medindia