Pharmacies across the UK are reporting shortages of the meningitis B vaccine following a surge in demand after a serious outbreak in Kent. The outbreak, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury, has killed two people and left 13 others seriously ill.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said a snap poll found that 87% of pharmacies had seen a dramatic rise in requests from parents seeking to vaccinate their children. Many parents are paying over £200 per child for the vaccine, which is not routinely offered on the NHS beyond infancy.
Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, said demand was “far exceeding supply”, forcing pharmacies to manage constrained supplies and tell anxious parents they cannot immunise their children. One pharmacy owner in Berkshire reported receiving 30 to 40 calls in two hours from people wanting to book entire families for vaccinations.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is leading an intensive contact-tracing operation and has offered the vaccine to students at the University of Kent. However, the agency stressed there is no evidence of wider spread beyond Kent. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam said: “We have no evidence of any wider spread.”
The outbreak has prompted calls for the NHS to extend routine MenB vaccination to teenagers and young adults. A spokesperson for the Meningitis Research Foundation said: “Cost should not be a barrier when we are talking about such a serious illness as meningitis, which can be deadly and leaves one in five survivors with lifelong disabilities.”
