Washington Woman Backs Meningitis Vaccine Campaign
18 March 2015, 06:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
A campaign calling for a vaccine against meningitis to be compulsory for all children is being backed by a woman from Washington who lost her fingers and legs to the virus
It is almost a year since the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that a meningococcal Group B meningitis and septicaemia (MenB) vaccine be introduced into the childhood immunisation programme.
But it still hasn't been implemented.
Now a campaign, called #WheresOurVaccine has been launched, and is supported by a number of people who've survived the virus.
One of those people is Vivienne Bell from Washington, who lost her fingers and legs to meningitis.
She told Capital:
"I wouldn't like anyone to suffer like I did. It was just soul destroying.
I lost a third of my body.
But I am a fighter and luckily I fought my way through this, and I will fight for this vaccine.
Meningitis never goes away, and it's not just kids.
It's students, it's older people, it's airbourne and it's lethal. It went through me in 5 hours."
On average there are 1.761 cases of MenB in the UK every year, with 10% of those resulting in death.
People who are part of the campaign have launched an online petition supporting the introduction of MenB vaccination against meningitis and septicaemia.
They're looking for 10,000 signatures to be able to present it to 10 Downing Street.
