Technology and Science16 July, 20263 min read
UK Advisers Recommend MenB Vaccine For Teenagers On NHS From Age 15
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JCVI recommends offering the MenB vaccine to all teenagers on the NHS at age 15. A one-off vaccination campaign is being launched across the UK as a precaution.
JCVI backs MenB at 15
UK government advisers have recommended that all teenagers across the UK should be offered a meningitis B (MenB) vaccine on the NHS at around the age of 15, with eligibility for the first cohort set for those who will turn 15 in 2030. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommendation also includes catch-up programmes and a booster approach for those who had the menB jab as an infant, while children who missed the jab as a baby would be offered two doses. The move follows meningitis outbreaks across the UK that resulted in dozens of confirmed cases alongside several deaths, including a major outbreak in Kent linked to a Canterbury nightclub that killed two people and left over a dozen needing hospital treatment.
The Guardian reported that the JCVI chair, Prof Wei Shen Lim, said: “Invasive meningococcal disease is a rare but very serious illness, which can have a devastating impact on lives.” As a precaution, a one-off vaccination campaign has already been launched across the UK this summer for around a million young people who will be attending university or other further residential education in the autumn.
Families and campaigners react
The BBC said the recommendation is a change to previous advice after concerns over the UK's largest and fastest growing outbreak in Kent earlier this year, in which two people died. Anthony Mills, whose 18-year-old son Aaron died after contracting MenB during the Christmas break from his studies in Liverpool, told the BBC that teenagers getting the jab was his son's “legacy”. Mills also said he believes Aaron's story played a key role in convincing the JCVI to amend the guidance, adding: “The only thing that could have saved Aaron is the vaccine.”
Becca Heritage, who had her legs and one of her hands amputated after contracting MenB as a medical student in Southampton, welcomed the announcement and urged the government to follow the recommendation, saying “young people's lives are at stake”. The BBC also quoted Prof Wei Shen Lim describing the disease as “rare but very serious,” and Dr Tom Nutt calling the recommendation a “significant moment” in the fight against meningitis.
Implementation and risk
The Department of Health and Social Care said: "We will consider the advice and will update on any future programme in due course," while the BBC reported it would be up to ministers in each nation of the UK to decide whether the financial cost of providing it via the NHS is worth it. The BBC said people getting the jab would not have to pay, and it described how the JCVI says two doses are needed for the fullest protection for teenagers. The BBC also reported that meningitis infections can be spread through close contact, including “kissing or sharing vapes,” and it noted that the JCVI says teenagers and young adults over the age of 11 have not received the jab.
“People getting the jab would not have to pay.”
In Liverpool, Anthony Mills told the BBC that he and his family had not known before Aaron died that a MenB vaccination was available, thinking his school vaccinations at 14 fully protected him, and he said: “We had no chance”. The Guardian said the JCVI recommendation would introduce a booster jab for those aged around 15 who had the menB jab as an infant, and it said the first cohort to apply would be those who will turn 15 in 2030.