A Procession of 500-Year-Old Bones vs Babies.

In an age of austerity, there few very few things I could give less whoops about than the re-burial of Richard III. Literally do not care. 

Don't Care

Meanwhile, despite agreeing that babies can and should be vaccinated against meningitis, the government are still to provide them on the NHS. 

GlaxoSmithKline (big pharmaceutical company- probably evil) are involved in a dispute with the NHS about how much they will sell the NHS the vaccine for. 




It's not that the vaccine isn't ready. It's not that the vaccine isn't safe. In fact the babies of the wealthy can be vaccinated, a grand a pop in the private sector.


This brings me out in a fit of effing and jeffing. 


First of all, vaccines are a public health requirement. They are socially necessary to eradicate disease. They should be free and publicly provided. It shouldn't be down to parents to make a cost based decision about whether or not to vaccinate their children.

Secondly, there's something incredibly sinister in the fact that there are some children who will get meningitis simply because there parents cannot afford to pay. About a tenth of those babies will die. A third will have life changing injuries. 

If the vaccine is good enough for the babies of the wealthy, it's good enough for everyone. 

Thirdly, who the flinging feck are GSK to dictate the price of a child's life? Private companies exist to make a profit- they cannot be trusted with health, well being, life and death. 

Kick out the privateers and nationalise the pharmaceutical companies. We can't afford not to. 


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