Father of teenager who died from meningitis calls for catch-up vaccination programme
The father of a teenager who died from meningococcal B is calling for a catch-up vaccination program for Irish adolescents. Despite his plea, health authorities have ruled out a routine program, citing the rarity of the infection.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between public health policy, cost-effectiveness, and the advocacy of families affected by rare but fatal diseases.
An inquest has heard calls from the father of a young girl who died from bacterial meningitis last year for a catch-up programme to be made available to vaccinate Irish teenagers against the life-threatening infection.
However, the inquest into the death of Emily Ellen Culhane (16) from The Birches, Lower Boley, Abbeyleix, Co Laois who died from a strain of meningococcal B at Beaumont Hospital on January 5, 2025 heard such a measure had already been ruled out earlier this year.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) did not recommend a routine MenB vaccination programme for adolescents following a review of an outbreak of meningitis in Kent, England in March which resulted in the introduction of a targeted vaccination programme in the UK.
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