IT COULD have happened to anyone, but the Peach family wants to make sure no one else has to suffer their ordeal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Quirindi family recently lost their 18-month-old son, Donald, to meningococcal B.
A petition has been launched by Donald's aunt, Belinda, to get vaccinations for the meningococcal B strain on the National Immunisation Program Schedule.
Presently, the schedule only includes immunisations for meningococcal ACWY.
READ MORE:
Ms Peach's petition has attracted nearly 2000 signatures after being launched about two weeks ago.
"We just want to get it out about my nephew so other families don't have to go through what we've gone through," she said.
"He was so young and happy, and it came on so quickly."
Ms Peach said there was very little information out there about the meningococcal B strain and its vaccination.
She said a number of people had told them after Donald's death that they'd never known about the disease.
"We just want to get the message out there," she said.
Ms Peach hopes to draw the attention of the Prime Minister through the online petition.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt has previously said there were questions about the efficacy of meningococcal B vaccine and it would need to be reviewed by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) before it was made freely available.
If it is recommended by the PBAC, the vaccine would be moved onto the national scheme "as a priority," the minister said.