Harris needs to get real on MenB vax

Issued : Tuesday 15 January, 2019

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has repeated his calls for the State to make Meningitis B vaccinations more affordable.

This comes as a 12th case of meningitis B has been confirmed.

Deputy Kelly said:

“In refusing to make the meningitis B vaccine free or more affordable, Minister Simon Harris has rejected the will of thousands of parents.

“Parents are nervous about their children contracting meningitis B and are equally nervous about not being able to afford the vaccine. 

“At the end of the day, it is the parents who are struggling to make ends meet who are going to suffer as they aren't able to afford a round of vaccines that cost €300 per child. These families are being left behind by Fine Gael.

“I’ve been contacted by families who had to fork out over €600 over the weekend to vaccinate two small children and are now worried about how they are going to make ends meet for the rest of the month.

“All parents make sacrifices for their kids but it is outrageous to expect parents to bear the brunt of such large costs in the middle of a health crisis.

“Rather than lecture parents who are unable to afford this vaccine, the Government and HSE now have the opportunity to buy this vaccine in bulk to administer to children who would have missed out on this vaccine, and in turn this would significantly lower the costs.

“Minister Harris needs to get real on this and move to providing this vaccine at a more affordable price point for parents and their children."