Excellence in Communications - Payers/Policy Makers

Summary of work

Meningitis B kills more children under five than any other infectious disease in the UK and, until recently, there was no way to prevent it.

Meningitis Now, supported pro bono by Just:: Health Communications, fought tirelessly for over two years to secure the introduction of a meningitis B vaccine.

Our campaign aimed to make both the rational and emotional cases for adopting the vaccine through a combination of public affairs, campaigning and PR. We developed and promoted the evidence base for approving a meningitis B vaccine, including data on quality of life, the burden of after-effects and precedents from previous NICE and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) decisions. We brought to life the human impact of the disease through victims and families who spoke at events, lobbied politicians and featured in campaign materials.

In March 2015, the Department of Health announced it would introduce the meningitis B vaccine to babies, hailed as “the most monumental announcement in the fight against the disease” for over 30 years. But it didn’t end there: we have continued to press DH to advance its pricing negotiations to ensure this vital new defence against a deadly disease is available as soon as possible.

Judges comments

This campaign had very clear objectives and overcame considerable hurdles to successfully argue for a vaccine that will save lives. It has a very powerful voice, partly due to the media noise created. In another year, this could have easily won the category.