Did Faye Burdett die in vain? Parent's anger as Government 'flippantly ignores' meningitis petition signed by 800,000 people and refuses to give children the jab

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The parents of tragic meningitis victim Faye Burdett today accused the Government of 'flippantly ignoring evidence' in a campaign to vaccinate all under-fives against the deadly condition.

Neil and Jenny Burdett appeared before MPs last month after a petition backing the move became the most signed in Downing Street history. 

But speaking today after calls for a more children to be given the Bexsero jab were rejected, they spoke of their anger and frustration saying politicians 'didn't listen'.

'We feel a lot of evidence was given and a lot of people backed us from MPs to the professionals but for some reason the answer they gave at the end of all that was the same as they gave at the beginning,' Mr Burdett told the Victoria Derbyshire show.

'Despite the amount of evidence and support it got to give the vaccine, they just don’t seem to have listened to any of it in our opinion.'

More than 800,000 people signed a petition calling on the Government to provide the Meningitis B vaccine for all children following the death of two-year-old Faye Burdett who died on Valentine's Day

The devastated couple released pictures of tragic toddler Faye showing her covered in a rash, lying in a hospital bed shortly before she died of meningitis B.

The harrowing pictures led to a huge swell of public support for a campaign calling for the vaccination programme to be extended to children up to 11.

More than 823,000 people signed the petition after Faye's death sparked a wave of stories about the deadly infection, with other parents sharing their children's battles.

Former England rugby captain Matt Dawson, whose son Sam survived meningitis C, also spoke at the two-day hearing - and told MPs there needs to be more awareness of the condition.

He joined the campaign following his two-year-old son's battle with meningitis, which he survived, in February this year.

The meningitis B jab is currently only available for babies under 12 months with the Government rejecting calls for the vaccine programme to be extended, saying it was not cost effective for the NHS. 

Responding to the petition, the Department of Health said its priority was to vaccinate those children considered most at risk from meningitis

It pointed out it was following guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the Government on the cost-effectiveness of vaccinations.

Hopes the official stance would change following the debate were dashed when Health Minister Jane Ellison told the hearing she had been 'reassured that the programme we have is the right one, targeting the group of children at highest risk of disease and death.'

The petition gathered momentum after Faye Burdett's harrowing pictures were shared by her parents. It was signed by 823,341 people - the most in Parliament history

Her parents describe Faye as a 'happy go lucky' toddler, who changed from being perfectly healthy to having a one per cent chance of survival in just 12 hours before she died in hospital 11 days later

Rejecting a policy change, the Department of Health instead asked Public Health England to launch a new national awareness campaign to alert parents to the signs and symptoms of the disease.

But Mr and Mrs Burdett rejected this as ‘not enough' - adding Faye's plight had already dramatically raised the profile of the disease.

They told the BBC show they hadn't known a vaccine was available privately but also felt the cost might make be prohibitive to some.

The couple said no cost should be put on a child's life and accused ministers of also failing to take into account the recovery costs of survivors. 

Mrs Burdett told the BBC show: 'We never ever want to imagine another family having to make the decision that we did. 

'No parent should have to decide whether the kindest thing to is to allow your child to die because of a disease they could’ve been vaccinated against.'

She said the disease was notoriously difficult for doctors to diagnose and spreads so rapidly, prevention was more effective than a cure.

Doctors initially misdiagnosed Faye's condition as a virus and discharged her.

Six hours later, she was critically ill.

'If its misdiagnosed, as soon as that child becomes unwell, that’s when the clock starts ticking,' she said.

'You don’t have time to go backwards and forwards to GPs or to the hospital. It needs to be seen, treated and dealt with so quickly just to slow down the destruction of it. 

'Children can survive this but it is how they are left afterwards as well. It’s not just the children who die.' 

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We have asked Public Health England to develop a new national awareness campaign to help parents spot the signs of those dangerous infections they most worry about - meningitis, sepsis and septicaemia. 

'We will be working closely with charities and clinical experts to make sure it is as effective as possible.

'It is my intention to roll this out before the peak of meningitis cases this winter.' 

WHAT IS MENINGITIS B AND WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE VACCINE?

Meningitis B is a bacterial infection, most often striking in children under one year old.

Symptoms include a high temperature with cold hands and feet, confusion, vomiting and headaches.

If caught early and treated with antibiotics, most people will make a full recovery.

There are about 1,200 cases each year in the UK.

The meningitis B vaccine is currently given to babies up to 12 months

In 2014, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the expert body which advises the government on vaccinations, recommended that babies be given the meningitis B vaccine, from two months of age.

The committee had previously ruled that the vaccine should not be introduced - because, it said, it was not cost-effective.

It was announced in June that the vaccine would be given to all babies when they reached two months of age.

Booster jabs are also given at four months and 12 months as part of the childhood immunisation programme from September 2015.

The idea was to protect those most at risk - with cases of meningitis B peaking in infants at around five or six months of age.

The JCVI did advise a catch-up programme for slightly older babies who were three or four months old in September 2015 - but not for any other age group. 

The campaign to get all children immunised up the age off 11 became the most signed in Downing Street history.

It led to two evidence sessions where experts and affected families spoke to the Commons Petitions Committee before a debate among MPs last month.

But hopes it would lead to a reform were dashed when Health Minister Jane Ellison said: 'I've been reassured that the programme we have is the right one, targeting the group of children at highest risk of disease and death.'