<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Victorian government's announcement this week that it will fund free meningococcal B vaccines for teenagers has been met with conflicted emotions from families who have lost loved ones to the deadly disease.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state will set aside $9 million to add the B strain to the existing meningococcal A,C,W and Y vaccines available for Year 10 students under the National Immunisation Program.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meningococcal B is a contagious bacterial infection that can cause serious injury or death, sometimes in as little as 24 hours. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/court-to-rule-on-coles-down-down-discounts/87c74739-1bf4-48da-8a61-9c4361392f1d" rel="" target="" title="Coles 'illusory' discounts misled shoppers, court rules"><strong><span>Coles 'illusory' discounts misled shoppers, court rules</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With all other strains routinely vaccinated against, B is now the dominant form of meningococcal disease in Australia and is responsible for around 80 per cent of cases, according to data from the </span><a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/CA1DBF11D71F5F3ECA258ADE0019B036/%24File/cdi-2024-48-52.pdf" rel="" target="" title=""><span>Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme</span></a><span>. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Three other Australian states and territories offer free meningococcal B vaccines for teenagers and infants - Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory - while Tasmania will also follow suit from July this year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the addition of Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia are the only jurisdictions yet to provide state-funded access to the vaccine. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/meningococcal-b-vaccines-free-in-australia-mums-plea/496ba211-108b-42b8-9e16-d303a3f33df1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meningococcal B vaccines are available via private script for infants and teenagers, but protection requires multiple doses at $140 per jab.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the Victorian announcement is a breakthrough for local families, the plan has already drawn criticism for its limited scope. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The $9 million commitment is currently only funded for a single year, and unlike programs in South Australia and Queensland, it does not yet include infants, who remain one of the most at-risk demographics.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Melbourne mother Norliah Syer-Peterson has been a tireless advocate for the vaccine since her 16-year-old son, Levi, died last September. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Levi was a healthy Year 10 student who went from having gastro-like symptoms in the morning to being gone within 12 hours.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In December, Syer-Peterson presented a petition with more than 41,000 signatures to parliament calling for the government to fund the meningococcal B vaccine. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Syer-Peterson said that although it was too late for her son, she felt relieved that other teenagers might now be spared.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The legacy of her "beautiful, caring, fun-loving, sporty, funny, and kind-hearted boy" would continue as a result of the Victorian Government's decision, she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, Syer-Peterson said the need for free vaccines for infants remained in Victoria. The mother also vowed to continue campaigning for the vaccine to be funded in all states.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The push for a national solution hit a significant roadblock in March this year when the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) rejected a proposal to include the B strain vaccine on the National Immunisation Program for all infants and teens.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the PBAC acknowledged the clinical need and effectiveness of the vaccine, it maintained that the evidence did not yet justify the cost of a nationwide rollout, describing the disease as catastrophic but rare.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is now calling on the NSW Government to urgently fund meningococcal B (MenB) vaccines as part of its immunisation program, warning that children and young people are being put at unnecessary risk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>RACGP NSW Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said protecting children should not depend on a family's income or postcode.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Vaccination saves lives," Hoffman said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Patients in New South Wales deserve a strong response, as we've seen in Queensland, South Australia, the NT, and recently, Victoria. We've delayed free MenB vaccination for too long already."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>New South Wales mum Stacey Chater lost her son Brayden to a meningococcal B infection in November 2022. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brayden was a fit 23-year-old from Dapto who "lit up a room," but his life was cut short when he arrived at Wollongong Hospital already brain-dead from the infection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chater has spent three years campaigning for NSW Health Minister Ryan Park to fund the B strain vaccine, but she said her pleas had fallen on deaf ears.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's so infuriating," she said. "I just feel like I'm being ignored and it doesn't make sense to me. It's really a no-brainer." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite meeting with the minister and delivering thousands of signed letters to his office, Chater said there had been no progress in NSW.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"New South Wales is looked upon as probably the leading state of Australia, so it's very, very disappointing," she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's encouraging to see all these other states making change, but when's it going to be our turn? It just feels like I'm beating my head against a brick wall."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chater said her message for Park was simple: "Get on board, save our kids lives and just come in line with the rest of Australia."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A NSW Health spokesperson said the rate of invasive meningococcal disease remained low.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"NSW Health continues to closely monitor the pattern of meningococcal B disease in NSW and respond based on the best available evidence, and emerging program developments in other jurisdictions," the spokesperson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>People who are at increased risk because they have certain medical conditions, as well as Aboriginal babies, are eligible for free meningococcal B vaccines under the National Immunisation Program.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w"><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></li></ul></div></div>