Confirmation that the new meningitis MenB vaccine is to be made available on the National Health Trust (NHS) has been welcomed by Patrick Leonard, SDLP Sperrin election candidate.
Tragic teen Terri Devine.
Mr Leonard, who had supported a local campaign for the vaccine to be made available, said its availability on the NHS was particularly relevant to the Strabane area following the death of Glenmornan teenager Terri Devine who passed away in 2008 after contracting a aggressive strain of the illness.
Mr Leonard had supported a campaign launched last year by the tragic teen’s family
“Time for Terri” calls on the British Government to introduce the new Meningitis B vaccine into the childhood immunisation programme.
Mr Leonard said: Meningitis remained an unpredictable disease that was “every parent’s worst nightmare.”
He added: “So many parents like Marie and Sean Devine have experienced the tragic loss of a child, or had to cope with severe disability brought on by the disease, and we must do everything we can to fight this.
“There is great hope in the new Bexsero vaccine and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) decision to make it available on the NHS is a welcome move.”
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