Meningitis Centre Australia CEO Karen Quick says free Meningococcal B vaccines are now available to Year 9 students in the NT and she’s encouraging families to take advantage of it

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But we know that the government made the meninger cockle
bee vaccines free for infants as well as adolescents at
the start of the year, protecting kids from a devastating
disease and saving families hundreds of dollars on immunization. It
is available to babies age six weeks to two years
and adolescents age fourteen to nineteen years. Now joining me

(00:23):
on the line is the CEO of the Meningitis Center
of Australia, Karen Quick.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Good morning, Karen, Good morning, Katie. How are you yeah?

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Really good, lovely to have you on the show. Karen,
how is the vaccine roll out going?

Speaker 2 (00:39):
It's going really well, but we need to get everybody
to get their kids vaccinated. It's so important to protect
them from this dreadful disease.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
So talk me through in terms of the numbers, how
many territorians have taken it up so far.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
I don't actually have those numbers on me, but I
believe the rates are quite high. And it's exciting to
see because this is only happening in three states in
Australia and the Northern Territory of leaders in this and
it's visionary and to see that the parents who really

(01:19):
wanted this and couldn't afford it and now have access
to it.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Now I understand that it is now available as well
to year nine students. What's the process there?

Speaker 2 (01:29):
So it has now been rolled out for our year
nine students. They will have a consent form sent home
to them for parents to sign and then they'll just
have it with all their other normal school vaccinations that
they have. It's free and it's easy. But the really
important thing is if your child misses it at school,

(01:49):
you can also get a catch up vaccination and it's
as simple as going to your GP, your pharmacy, or
your community health center or immunization center and they'll do
it there and on the spot for you.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Now tell me, I mean, I think for some people
listening they will definitely know how serious Manager Cocklebee is,
but just remind those who maybe don't.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
It's a devastating disease. One in ten that contract this
disease will die, and one in four will end up
with a permanent disability, and that can be anything from
loss of limbs, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, loss of hearing. The
list goes on and on, but for all of them
there's the psychological trauma that lasts a lifetime. We have

(02:38):
people that had happened to them forty years ago and
there are still things that trigger them. There are still
things that make their lives really difficult because of this disease.
So it's not something you know, people say it's rare,
but it's rare until it happens to you exactly. And
it's just so important to be in practice, to be pretend,

(03:00):
and to know the signs and symptoms so you can
act immediately. If you're suspecting ninja cockle, go straight to
the hospital or GP and ask the question called it
being a ninja cockle, You've got to trust it in thincts.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
As a parent, can you tell us what some of
those signs and symptoms are really for parents to look
out for, because I know when your kid's a little
you know, you worry so much about them, to be
honest and about everything, really.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yep, you do. And the thing is is it camouflages
itself as a virus, so it's things like headaches, stiff neck,
you know, sore eyes, to light temperature, vomiting, difficulty breeding.
And then there's the rash that everybody knows about that

(03:49):
comes out.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
We seem to have lost your Karen, can you hear us?
Oh we've got you again, Karent.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
I don't know what happened here. Yeah, I'm just saying
your rash is often the last thing to appear, or
may not appear at all. The really key thing about
this disease is it just every twenty minutes it keeps
getting worse. So if your child just continues going down
a hill, go and get them checked out straight away.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah. Look, I think that that is incredibly good advice. Now,
in terms of where parents can go to get their
children vaccinated, I know you said with the year nine students,
it sort of happens through school. If you're the parent
of a little eat what can you do?

Speaker 2 (04:37):
So if you've got a baby, either through your child
health clinic, your pharmacy, your GP, or your community health center.
Once again, it's not difficult to do. You just give
them a call, make an appointment, or just walk in
and say I need to get this done and they'll
do it for you then and there on the spot.

(04:58):
It's a free vaccine now thanks to the government bringing
it on board.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Well, Karen quick it is always great to catch up
with you. Thank you so very much for your

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Time, appreciate that we soon Bye.