24 August 2015 - Parents who want to vaccinate their child against meningococcal B will still be smacked with a $500 bill following a decision to reject the vaccine being subsidised.

Australian families have been declined access to the vaccine at a lower price after the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) failed to recommended the vaccine to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

While the meningococcal C strain vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program, 90 per cent of meningococcal cases in Australia are the B strain.

Immunisation expert from The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Professor Robert Booy, says the disease is not being prevented.

"Very few children are getting this vaccine, not only because it is expensive but people think because it is not recommended or paid for, then for some reason it is not as good," Prof Booy told AAP.

"Without the government backing this, very few children are getting this vaccine."

For more details, go to: http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/national/no-subsidy-for-meningococcal-b-vaccine/story-fnjbnvyj-1227496754854

MAESTrO Comment: A listing on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) rather than the PBS was sought.

MAESTrO Insight: This was the third PBAC rejection for Bexsero which is now sponsored by GSK; perhaps they can succeed where Novartis Diagnostics & Vaccines failed.