I posted this in vaccinations section but had no response. ...

[AliGrylls]

I would therefore appreciate people's views (particularly anyone who works within the medical profession) as I don't know what to do

We have been asked to participate in a trial of a new meningitis B vaccine by our local hospital: St George's, Wandsworth. This would take the form of our son being given a "6 in 1" vaccine at 8 weeks rather than the regular "5 in 1".

The vaccine has already been administered to 392 "adults and children" (no breakdown given) as a single vaccine, with virtually no side effects. This trial is to check the safety and efficacy of the vaccine when given in concert with the other childhood vaccines.

Clearly I am reluctant to use my son as a guinea pig. On the other hand, vaccines do have to be tested and someone has to be prepared to take the (v small) risk. In addition, anyone taking part in the study would get regular check ups from a senior paediatrician which is a benefit in itself. Obviously another small upside is that, assuming one is allocated to the vaccine group (rather than the control group), my son may get protection from a dangerous strain of meningitis.

DS1 did a trial of the pneumococcal (sp?) vaccine at St George's in Tooting when he was a baby. They were testing the difference between premature and term babies and whether to make it a routine vaccination in the UK (it is now). I agreed to the test because it was given routinely in the US and it sounded like it was a good thing for DS1 to be protected from.

It was great to have a paediatrician come to the house to do the jabs, but it did mean DS1 having a blood test after each injection.

However, I agree with bubbleymummy that they haven't tested it on very many people yet, so I'd probably say 'no' to the one you've been asked to do.

No way.

I know someone whose daughter took part in the trials for the last meningitis vaccine (C?). She was very enthusiastic about and perfectly confident of her child's safety. She was herself a medical researcher.

I think I might have been inclined to agree to it myself, but it's hard to be sure unless you're faced with the decision.

I'd want more information. I've taken part in a vaccine trial myself, and am confident they're even more careful with children (have to be to get it past the ethics committee, due to consent issues) but I don't think you've been given enough info to give a truly informed consent, tbh. Do you know what stage trial it is? I'd be a lot happier with Phase 3 than Phase 2, in your position. I'm also wondering if this is a multi-centre trial, and if so, are the numbers you're getting just for those treated at St George's? (I'm assuming that the trial is under the aegis of the St George's Vaccine Institute. That would reassure me a lot by itself.)

I agree on the need for volunteers, but if you're anxious, let parents who aren't anxious about it do this. Sure, they need to trial vaccines, but on any healthy baby whose parents are okay with it, not your baby specifically. If you aren't, it's not a problem, they'll just find some who are, and you have absolutely no reason to feel like it's your responsibilty - it's the responsibility of the people running the trial to locate cheerfully willing parents.

The St George's Vaccine team are amazing and my husband has been a guinea pig for them in past. I'd do it, he would do it again but no way would I let our children be involved.

I'm a little unclear on why they are starting with babies this early anyway - maybe you could ask them more about the breakdown for the 392 because usually more adults would have been involved first.

There is a MenB vaccine that has been given to children in Cuba since the '80s.
Globally it has been given to 50,000000 people. The reason the vaccine was not used in the UK was because it would affect trade and relations with the USA who have an embargo on Cuba.
If it were that vaccine I would feel confident giving it to my child, even if only 369 people in the UK had used it. If it were a new one, not so sure.