Meningococcal B: WA families’ plea to make jab for preventable disease free for all children

A Perth mother who lost her son to complications from vaccine-preventable disease meningococcal B has urged the State Government to make the jab free for all children. Lydia Gallant’s teenage son Evan died four years ago, but his death stemmed from a meningococcal B infection when he was just seven months old. Meningococcal is a serious bacterial infection that can develop quickly and there are five main types — A, B, C, W and Y. One in 10 people who contract meningococcal B will die, while one in four will be left with a permanent disability, including loss of limbs, brain damage, cerebral palsy and psychological trauma. It took less than four hours for baby Evan to end up in intensive care fighting for his life after a sudden fever one day in 2005. Ms Gallant’s husband Russell Harvey took their son to the doctor, but by the time they got there he had crashed. An ambulance rushed Evan to hospital, resuscitating him the entire 30-minute journey. The devastated parents sat with their infant son as he battled in the ICU for 10 days, before being told the cause was meningococcal B. “There were just so many cords and lines and wires attached to him that his little body was almost hidden,” Ms Gallant said. Evan had sustained a severe brain injury during his collapse, leaving him wheelchair-bound with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical visual impairment, among other high-support needs. While the Gallant-Harvey family adjusted and made sure their son and two other children, Kaden and Sienne, led equally full lives, Evan died suddenly in 2020 due to complications from his cerebral palsy. He was just 15. Ms Gallant is talking about her son with the “wicked sense of humour” in the hope it will prompt the State Government to commit to funding the meningococcal B vaccine. “The thought that it could be preventable, no one should think twice,” she said. She is one of thousands of West Aussies urging the State Government to fund the B vaccine. A campaign spearheaded by Meningitis Centre Australia has seen more than 3000 parents send letters direct to Premier Roger Cook’s office in a bid to be heard. “It’s a vaccine-preventable disease, and there is absolutely no reason why kids should get this (meningococcal) today,” chief executive Karen Quick said. Babies and adolescents are vaccinated for the A,C,W and Y types via the National Immunisation Program, but innoculating against type B remains a costly exercise in WA. It costs $600 for babies and $400 for teens and is free only for First Nations children and other children with specific conditions. South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory have all committed to making it free, with the NT rolling out its vaccine from January 1. A recent survey of 8000 parents found 87 per cent who want to vaccinate their children against meningococcal B cannot afford it. Funding a B vaccine program would cost roughly $6 million a year, while the ongoing costs of those left with permanent disability following the disease is about $10m per patient. With almost every case of meningococcal in WA this year being type B, it’s a choice Ms Gallant believes no parent should have to make. “Why would you not offer protection for free so that people don’t feel restricted by finances, especially when we’re in a cost-of-living crisis?” she said. Liberal leader Libby Mettam has heeded those calls and will on Thursday announce a commitment to fund the vaccine should her party win government at next year’s State election. Ms Mettam, who is also shadow health minister, will make the election promise at Meningitis Centre Australia’s “Men B Memory Tree” event on Thursday, where families and advocates will gather to remember those lost to the deadly illness. Almost 100 white baubles bearing the names and ages of “Men B angels” will adorn two Christmas trees at the event, with hundreds of red baubles representing families affected by the disease. “This is low hanging fruit to keep young West Australians safe and it deserves to be a government priority, especially off the back of the biggest boom in our State’s history,” Ms Mettam said. Dr Andrew Leech, a GP who treats survivors of the illness, said it was a “no-brainer”. “It’s so important that kids don’t catch this. It’s so important that we protect them. It just makes sense,” Dr Leech said. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson would not commit to funding the vaccine program should Labor be re-elected to government, labelling it a “Commonwealth responsibility”. Ms Sanderson also refused to be drawn on whether she would follow the lead of her predecessor Mr Cook, who put the ACWY vaccine on the State-funded schedule in 2018, before lobbying the Federal Government to put it on the NIP. “We continue to advocate to the Federal Government for the meningococcal B vaccine to be added to the national immunisation program. This disease affects all States and Territories and deserves a national approach,” she said.