Key Points
- All Australian children have access to free meningococcal vaccinations but not for meningococcal B.
- Stacey Chater's son Brayden died unexpectedly last year within two days of the first sign he was unwell.
- She wants the immunisations to be free for all children so others do not lose loved ones to the disease.
Stacey Chater initially had no idea what caused the sudden death of her active 23-year-old son.
After Brayden celebrated his work Christmas party last year, she found him having a fit in his bedroom.
Within hours, doctors told her that her son was brain dead and he died the next day. It was not until the following week that she got a call informing her that her son had had meningococcal.
"I said, 'well he was immunised for meningococcal'," remembering the immunisations her children had received when they were younger.
"They said 'no, actually there's a B strain which is a different vaccination'," Chater said.
"It was then we found out you’ve got to ask for that vaccination and you have to pay for it."
New South Wales, where the family is from, as well as the majority of other Australian states, does not provide meningococcal B vaccinations to all young people for free.
Chater said it was hard knowing there was a vaccine Brayden could have had that would have prevented his death.
Brayden Chater had a headache and a bit of a fever on and off for the two days before he died, but it was not bad enough to cause concern for him or his mother. Source: Supplied
Vaccinations provided on a national level in Australia
As part of routine childhood immunisations, Australian teenagers can get vaccinated against meningococcal for free around the time they are in Year 10.
The vaccination, which covers meningococcal A, C, W and Y is part of the
While a vaccine against meningococcal B is offered as part of the schedule, it's currently only offered to those considered at a greater risk, including Indigenous babies as well as children with certain conditions.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends children and young adults who wish to reduce their risk from meningococcal B get vaccinated against it.
However, under the National Health Act, it is on the advice of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) that vaccines can be provided for free via the NIP.
A spokesperson for the Health Department said this has not been recommended for the general population of infants or adolescents.
Paying for vaccinations privately
Parents can choose to have their children immunised against meningococcal B if they pursue the matter with a GP, but they have to cover the cost of the vaccine.
Chater said she had not been aware of there being another meningococcal vaccination.
"And that's the thing, about 90 per cent of people I have spoken to since don't know about it," she said.
CEO of the Meningitis Centre Australia, Karen Quick, said the cost of the two vaccine doses required and GP fees could add up to $400.
She said the majority of "parents cannot afford this in the current economic environment."
Invasive meningococcal disease
The invasive form of meningococcal disease is rare but very serious.
It can cause significant illness, disability and death.
According to the online version of the Australian Immunisation Handbook, vaccination programs have successfully reduced the incidence of severe cases of meningococcal C, W and Y but "IMD (invasive meningococcal disease) caused by serogroup B continues to occur in Australia."
The federal Health department told SBS News six deaths associated with meningococcal B had been recorded across Australia as of 19 September this year.
The Australian states providing meningococcal B vaccinations
In 2018 South Australia started an immunisation program targeting meningococcal B, where the vaccinations were provided for free, and it was made permanent in 2021.
The Queensland government plans to start providing free vaccinations against the disease as of 2024, in a program similar to South Australia's, involving shots for babies and teenagers.
When the move was announced in early August, Queensland had recorded 20 cases of meningococcal B, double the number it had recorded by that point during the previous year.
Effectiveness of meningococcal B immunisation programs
A joint study by the Women’s and Children’s Health Network and University of Adelaide found the program had been key to a 60 per cent reduction in meningococcal B cases in infants and a 73 per cent drop in cases for adolescents.
The study also showed the vaccine gave a level of protection against gonorrhoea.
The meningococcal disease and gonorrhoea share 90 per cent of their genes, and it's understood that the two have cross-protective antibodies.
The vaccine was found to be about 33 per cent effective in preventing the sexually transmitted disease in teenagers.
Push for change in NSW in memory of Brayden
This weekend Chater will mark what would have been her son's 24th birthday with his friends and family.
After Brayden's death she said she felt compelled to bring attention to the vaccinations available for meningococcal B.
Chater is calling on state governments to provide the immunisations for free.
This week she visited NSW parliament to talk with MPs about the possibility of making the vaccinations free.
"They don’t have to wait for the red tape of the federal government, I know they can do this now so no more mothers lose their children like me," Chater said.
Quick and the Meningitis Centre Australia support this push, saying free meningococcal B vaccines also made financial sense.
"Queensland recently did the maths and worked out they would save more money than the cost of the vaccination itself – it’s a preventative measure that will save the taxpayer money in the long term."
A NSW Health spokesperson said while the Commonwealth was responsible for funding vaccines through the national program, it would continue to closely follow the pattern of meningococcal B disease in NSW and respond based on the best available evidence.
They said of the 29 cases of meningococcal disease reported in NSW so far this year, 20 had been meningococcal B.
