Pressure is building on the Government to give the meningitis B vaccine to children aged under 11 as the number of signatories to a petition has more than 688,000.
The petition so far states: "All children are at risk from this terrible infection, yet the Government plan to only vaccinate two to five-month-olds.
"There needs to be a rollout programme to vaccinate all children, at least up to age 11. Meningococcal infections can be very serious, causing MENINGITIS, SEPTICAEMIA & DEATH."
It comes as the Clare and Mark Timmins, the parents of a seven-year-old boy who died of the disease in 2013, released a picture of the final days of their son Mason to raise awareness of the campaign and to urge parents to vaccinate their children.
Mrs Timmins said: "(The photograph) is quite shocking but that's what we want as hopefully it will make people sit up and listen."
The petition is also supported by the parents of two-year-old Faye Burdett, who died from the infection on Valentine’s Day.
Faye’s family said they are suffering "a pain you cannot describe", and want a meningitis B vaccination for all children, up to the age of 11, to be rolled-out.
"We campaign for change in her memory," her mother Jenny said.
In September it was announced that a new meningitis vaccine was to be offered immediately to babies from the age of two months, in the first publicly-funded programme of its kind.
The new vaccine Bexsero is now offered to babies at two months, with a second dose at four months and a booster at 12 months.
The jab, which was delayed by rows over cost, also protects against infection by meningococcal group B bacteria, which can cause meningitis and septicaemia or blood poisoning.
Meningitis B is an aggressive bacterial infection which inflames the membranes around the brain and spinal cord
Some 1,200 people contract meningitis B each year. Around one-in-10 die from the infection while others suffer permanent disabilities.



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