COUNCILLORS moved by baby Kia Gott’s battle with meningitis could soon be urging the country’s top immunisation officials to re-think withdrawing a vaccine that could save lives.

On Tuesday, Councillor Debbie Davies will put forward a motion at City Hall calling for Bradford Council’s chief executive Kersten England to write to Dr Mary Ramsay, the Head of Immunisation at Public Health England and Professor Andrew Pollard who is chairman of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation.

Cllr Davies said the plight of one-year-old Kia, from Wyke, who had all four limbs amputated after contracting the infection and is still in hospital in high dependency care, had touched her and many others across Bradford and the whole country.

She wants the chief executive’s letter to outline the council’s concerns and request the decision made in 2016 to withdraw the Men C Vaccine for babies at 12 weeks be revisited as a matter of urgency.

Kia’s family believe if their daughter had been given the vaccine at 12 weeks she would still have her arms and legs and not have suffered brain damage. Instead of the Men C vaccine at 12 weeks, a combined Hib/MenC vaccine is now given to one-year-olds.

“There are lots of horrible diseases that people can get that are indiscriminate but if this could have been prevented by a vaccine then it’s just awful that this has happened to Kia,” said Coun Davies. “I wanted to bring the motion to try and help highlight this issue over the vaccine and show support for Kia’s family, seeing if we as an official body can put some pressure on those who have the power to re-introduce it for younger babies,” said Cllr Davies.

Before the Men C Vaccine was introduced to 12-week-olds in 1999, there were approximately 1,000 cases of it resulting in 70-80 deaths. From 2015/16, only 1 child under 12 months got the disease but the rate increased to four cases in 2016/2017 once it was withdrawn.

Kia’s dad Paul Gott said: “We shouldn’t have to scream and shout to be heard, it’s babies lives at risk and the figures alone say it all, over 200 per cent increase in a year in cases of Men C. We will carry on fighting for the vaccine to be reinstated at 12 weeks.

“My daughter has no limbs, suffered brain damage and this has affected all my family. Had she been vaccinated it would be so different.”

Mr Gott’s aunt Donna Gott added: “For now I believe parents should have the choice if their baby receives the vaccination at 12 weeks, even if they have to pay until it’s reviewed.”

So far more than 4,000 people have signed an online petition started by Kia’s family to get the vaccine at 12 weeks issue debated in Parliament, at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/205842