It featured 3,500 signatures collected by Scott Fewster, whose son died of meningitis.
The charity RAPPID (Raising Awareness of Paediatric Pneumococcal Infection and Disease) also published a report predicting that universal vaccination would prevent at least 29 child deaths and more than 7,000 serious cases of pneumococcal diseases, which include meningitis and pneumonia.
Government policy is to vaccinate infants and children up to two with specific risk factors, but most diseases occur in otherwise healthy children.
A Department of Health spokesman said it was researching the issue and early results were "encouraging". He added: "When the results are complete, we will seek advice from our independent experts about whether we should introduce the vaccine, the number of doses that should be offered and the appropriate age to vaccinate children."
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here