The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended that teenagers should be offered a meningitis B (menB) vaccine on the NHS around the age of 15, with catch-up programmes for those who missed out. The recommendation follows a series of meningitis outbreaks, the most serious being in Kent earlier this year, which left two teenagers dead.
Details of the Recommendation
The JCVI recommends a booster jab around age 15 for those who received a menB jab as a baby (born on or after May 1 2015). The first cohort affected will turn 15 in 2030. Children who missed the jab as a baby will be offered two doses. Additionally, the JCVI strongly supports giving two doses of the menB vaccine to children born on or before April 30 2015, who were not offered the vaccine as infants. They would receive the vaccine around age 15, protecting them at the next point of highest risk. A catch-up programme is also recommended to ensure no one misses out.
Separate One-Off Programme
This recommendation is separate from the one-off programme announced last month, which about a million teenagers and young people are expected to be eligible for. Year 13 pupils and those under 25 starting university this autumn are being offered the menB vaccine on the NHS this summer, with appointments beginning July 20 at pharmacies. A second dose will be given in August to ensure full protection.
Expert and Family Reactions
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chairman of the JCVI, said: “We encourage everyone who is eligible to book an appointment online to receive the vaccine at a local pharmacy, in time for the second dose to be received before heading off to university or college. For protection, two doses of the menB vaccine are necessary, at least 28 days apart. Additionally, JCVI has now also provided Government with a recommendation and additional considerations for a future routine menB adolescent vaccination programme for those aged around 15 years. (The Department of Health) will now consider this with a decision to be made in due course.”
Data suggests the menB vaccine is highly effective, providing strong protection for at least five years after vaccination. The Kent outbreak was the fastest growing and largest seen in the UK, and other smaller clusters of meningitis in young people since then have been bigger than expected. Close and prolonged contact in halls of residence, shared homes, and at social events can increase the risk of contracting menB. Cases tend to peak in October to November each year.
Dr Shamez Ladhani, consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has said previously that the likely reason for more meningitis clusters this year is low population immunity against menB.
Dr Tom Nutt, chief executive of Meningitis Now, described the recommendation as a “significant moment in the fight against meningitis”. He added: “We have consistently called for the vaccination of this age group, who remain at increased risk of MenB disease. Today’s recommendation is an important step towards ensuring that far more young people are protected from this devastating disease.”
Marrissa Mullans, whose son Alfie Jake Mullans was 18 when he died of menB in 2023, has been working with Meningitis Now. Her petition for a vaccination programme has a little under 81,500 signatures. She told the Press Association the JCVI recommendation is “amazing” and called on ministers to agree. “It’s bittersweet for me because I’ve lost Alfie,” Ms Mullans said. “Had Alfie been offered this life-saving vaccine at 15, I wouldn’t be sitting here as a grieving mum. But in honour of my son I’ve fought every minute I’ve not been in work to raise awareness and campaign to ensure no more young people lose their lives when there’s a life-saving vaccination available.”
Mark Cheesman, whose 15-year-old daughter Zara died of menB two days before Christmas 2024, told PA: “She was vaccinated for everything else, we would have had her vaccinated for this. But at the same time it’s painful that if that would have been available to her at 15 she would still be alive. Because she was born before 2015 she didn’t have the vaccine when she was a baby.” Mr Cheesman, from Nottingham, said Zara had had the MenACWY vaccine, which protects against four strains of meningococcal bacteria and is routinely offered to children in Year 9. However, he said: “It really wasn’t made clear it (menB) was not covered and, more importantly, that people were dying from it.” Last year, a coroner ruled neglect by ambulance workers contributed to Zara’s death.
Dr Nutt said: “Behind today’s recommendation are countless families whose lives have been forever changed by meningitis. Many have channelled their grief, loss and lived experience into tirelessly campaigning for change, determined that other families should never have to endure what they have been through. Today we remember all lives lost to meningitis and recognise this landmark step takes us closer to a world where no-one has to experience this devastating disease.”
