England Offers Meningitis B Vaccine to University Students Starting in July

Hundreds of thousands of students across England preparing for university this autumn are eligible to book meningitis B vaccine appointments at pharmacies, The Independent reported. The one-off programme targets Year 13 pupils aged 17 and 18 and requires two doses administered at least 28 days apart.

Individuals under 25 attending university or other residential further education institutions this autumn can also secure appointments, with jabs commencing from 20 July.

The initiative follows a government announcement last month prompted by a series of serious meningitis outbreaks, including a particularly severe incident in Kent that claimed the lives of two teenagers. NHS England data indicates that first-year university students face approximately seven times higher risk of MenB compared to their non-university peers of a similar age.

Dr Shamez Ladhani, consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said the risk of MenB rises sharply for young people starting university, where mixing closely with so many new people increases exposure to the bacteria.

Caroline Temmink, NHS director of vaccination, said heading off to university is an exciting time but also when the risk of MenB disease is higher as students spend lots of time with new people in shared living spaces. The Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education are launching a school-aged vaccination taskforce.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is currently looking at whether a bigger and longer programme is needed for young people.