Devastated mother calls for free meningococcal B vaccine rollout

‘Brayden was amazing,’ says his mother, Stacey Chater.
 
‘He was just a very loving, friendly young man, very sporty, loved to play footy, loved fishing, had friends everywhere, loved his family.’
 
It was two years ago that Ms Chater’s life changed in an instant.
 
On a Thursday night in November 2022, her 23-year-old son Brayden first mentioned having a fever.
 
He had just come home from playing touch footy, but after taking a Panadol, he decided to go to bed.
 
The next morning, Brayden was feeling a bit better – well enough to go to his work Christmas party, to play paintball, and visit the pub with his mates.
 
But by that evening, everything was different.
 
‘I got home around 9.00 pm and he was unconscious and convulsing – it was horrible, absolutely horrible,’ Ms Chater told newsGP.
 
‘We rang the ambulance straight away, and we got into hospital at 10.30 pm.
 
‘Within an hour or so, the doctors came in and just told us that Brayden was brain dead and there was nothing they could do for him. That all just happened in a day.’
 
Eventually, the Chater family found out Brayden had contracted meningococcal B – a disease which went on to claim his life in little over 24 hours.
 
‘If Brayden had been vaccinated, more than likely, he would still be here,’ Ms Chater said.

‘It’s crazy that there’s a vaccine sitting there on a shelf ready to go and hardly anyone knows about it.’
 
Now, two years on, the devastated mother is working make sure no other families have to go through such tragedy.
 
Ms Chater is using her own experience to call for free meningococcal B vaccines to be made available in her home state of New South Wales.
 
‘The pain and suffering we’ve all been dealing with and will for the rest of our lives, I never want anyone to have to go through this,’ she said.
 
It is a call the RACGP is backing, saying the State Government must protect families by making the vaccination free for key at-risk groups. 
 
The college is recommending free meningococcal B vaccines be made available for every child aged two and under and every teen aged 15–19 in NSW.
 
‘We can dramatically reduce the deaths and disability related to meningococcal B,’ said RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman.
 
‘Effective vaccines are available, now it is up to the Government to ensure free access to all at-risk Australians.  
 
‘Out-of-pocket costs shouldn’t prevent any parents in NSW from protecting their children … prevention is the best solution.’
 
Currently, a meningococcal B vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged two months, four months, six months and 12 months, and patients aged two months or older with certain medical conditions.
 
While access to a meningococcal ACWY vaccine is much broader, with a vaccination free under the NIP for children aged 12 months, adolescents aged 14–16 years, and patients aged two months or older with certain medical conditions.
 
State-based rollouts of the vaccine for adolescents have already proved successful in current diagnoses rates.
 
In South Australia, its world-leading Meningococcal B Immunisation Program allowed infants and adolescents aged 15–20 years old access to a vaccination.
 
A study of the program’s success found it was key to a 60% reduction in cases among infants and a 73% drop in cases for adolescents.
 
Queensland and the Northern Territory have also rolled out successful vaccination programs for adolescents.
 
The NT Government’s free meningococcal B vaccination program, offering protection for infants aged six weeks to two years, and adolescents aged 14 to 19 years, went live on 1 January this year.
 
It is expected to help protect up to 4200 babies and 18,500 adolescents across the Territory from the ‘devastating disease’.
 
A NSW Health spokesperson told newsGP the department continues to ‘closely monitor the pattern of meningococcal B disease in NSW and respond based on the best available evidence’.
 
‘The Commonwealth Department of Health is responsible for funding vaccines through the NIP,’ they said.
 
‘The Commonwealth has a rigorous assessment process for determining which vaccines are funded in the NIP.
 
‘NSW Health implements the NIP to protect the community from infectious diseases based on national advice.’
 
And for Ms Chater, she knows all too well the life-saving potential of these vaccines.
 
‘It’s not just his mum, his dad, it’s his grandparents, his cousins, his siblings, his work mates, his footy mates – there’s so many people that this has affected and will affect for the rest of their life,’ she said.
 
‘I think about what Brayden is missing out on and will never get the chance to do, and I don’t want that for anyone else.’
 
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