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Scientists comment on the Department of Health and Social Care (DSHC) announcing a one-off meningitis vaccination programme for young people.
Prof Hannah Christensen, Professor in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University of Bristol, said:
“The Bexsero vaccine was designed to protect against meningococcal disease caused by ‘group B’ strains. Evidence suggests Bexsero offers good protection against invasive disease for most group B strains – but not all, so it is still important for people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of disease.
“The vaccine does not offer protection against transmission of the bacteria between people, so people need to get the vaccine themselves to get the benefit.
“Meningococcal disease remains rare in the population, but teenagers and those living in student accommodation are at increased risk. This one-off MenB vaccination programme to protect all Year 13 pupils, and those under 25 starting university or residential further education represents an opportunity to protect these higher risk groups.”
Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said:
“The current MenB vaccine was introduced into the UK in 2015, with a 3-dose schedule in the first year of life. Immunity does wane within a few years and there is not currently a routine dose in teenage years.
“The high-profile outbreaks we have seen in the UK this year shows that meningitis outbreaks are severe and of high consequence. Given the 2015 introduction, we therefore have a cohort of teenagers and young adults who would likely not have been offered the MenB vaccine previously.
“It is good to see this catch-up campaign. The vaccine is safe and effective. Evidence from New Zealand shows that from 93-100% of adolescents demonstrated a strong immune response 7 days after the first dose of vaccination. In that small proportion who did not generate a response after the first dose, 79-100% of them did respond to the second dose.”
Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, Assistant Professor in Global Health & Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said:
“The outbreaks of meningitis B we’ve seen in the UK this year, some involving the tragic deaths of young people, have caused understandable concern.
“This one-off targeted programme aims to protect those young adults most at risk – and particularly those looking to enter higher education in September. However, it is important for uptake to be high and equitable, and for tailored work in regions where uptake of routine school-age vaccinations is lower. Delivery via community pharmacies over the summer, when schools are closed, may need to be augmented by outreach efforts. Young adults should also be made aware of the duration of protection that meningitis B vaccination offers.
“The announcement of a targeted programme is a key opportunity for leaders of educational institutions to ensure that every adolescent is offered the vaccines they are currently recommended to receive, including meningitis ACWY and HPV. This means ensuring that young people catch up on recommended school-age vaccinations, as uptake varies across the country. Just 66.5% of adolescents in Year 9 received the men ACWY vaccine in the northwest of England in 2024/25, meaning around 1 in 3 were not vaccinated. So, this decision to offer meningitis B vaccination for young adults should happen alongside a thorough discussion of strengthening delivery pathways and how to close gaps in protection.”
Prof Andrew Preston, Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis, University of Bath, said:
“A one-off vaccination roll out such as this is both welcome and unusual. The vaccinations offered to year 13 students and others starting university or a course with residential requirements will provide protection from invasive MenB as they enter the relatively high-risk environment of residential halls and the socialising that happens in the first term. As highlighted in the UKHSA briefing, invasive MenB disease disproportionately affects teenagers and young adults, thus this vaccination campaign will help to reduce disease in part of this group.
“A targeted programme is usually in response to a current outbreak, but there is no evidence of a sustained nationwide outbreak in progress. Clearly there was tremendous concern around MenB disease among college and university students in the wake of the devastating Kent outbreak and other outbreaks this year and JCVI have been asked to consider the evidence about wider eligibility for the MenB vaccine to encompass teenagers and young adults. The situation is complex. While the MenB vaccine offers protection to the vaccinated it does not reduce carriage of the bacteria and so does not offer a herd immunity effect, meaning that sustained vaccination of this age group will be required through future years to protect each future cohort of students.
“So, in addition to providing very welcome protection to the current year 13 cohort, this vaccination campaign is likely to be highly informative to on-going review of the evidence, in terms of level of uptake among those eligible, the logistics of roll out and of course evidence of impact of the vaccine on disease incidence over the next year or so.”
Prof Sir Andrew Pollard FRCPCH FMedSci FRS, Ashall Professor of Infection and Immunity, Pandemic Sciences Institute, and Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford, said:
“Parents and doctors, like me, who care for children and young people, rightly fear this rare, devastating and unpredictable Meningitis B disease. The availability of a vaccine this year for young people will be a huge relief and should be enthusiastically welcomed. The vaccine does cover the Kent outbreak strain but does not prevent disease caused by some of the other strains out there, so students and teens should be made aware of symptoms and vigilant when they return to colleges and universities in the Autumn. We don’t know for sure if the Kent strain (or the strains that caused the other clusters) could cause more outbreaks but being vaccinated definitely reduces the risk.”
Dr Emma Wall, Clinical Professor of Infectious Diseases, QMUL, said:
“This is a very sensible and pragmatic response to the recent unprecedented Meningitis B outbreaks. It will offer protection to children and young people at most risk before the autumn when we know the risk increases and allow the JCVI enough time to fully evaluate evidence for updating the whole UK meningitis vaccine schedule.”
Prof Martin Maiden, Professor of Molecular Epidemiology, University of Oxford, said:
“Meningococcal disease clusters occur randomly and unpredictably, which means that they are not evenly spread in time and space, which means that clusters of clusters also occur occasionally and unpredictably. There are no links among the recent clusters in terms of the meningococci causing them. Cases of meningococcal disease remain low in the UK at the present time and there is currently no reason to suspect anything particularly worrying in that respect. Because of its danger, active surveillance of meningococcal disease is essential, but fortunately the UKHSA is extremely good at monitoring meningococcal disease and takes action when necessary, as happened in Kent, Weymouth, and Reading.
“The Current ‘MenB’ vaccines do not contain Men B antigen and therefore are not comprehensive in that respect; however, they can prevent cases of meningococcal disease, depending on the variant. They also do not prevent carriage or transmission of MenB. This is very different from the ACYW ‘conjugate polysaccharide’ vaccines, which contain A, C, W, and Y antigens, and prevent disease, carriage, and transmission extremely effectively.”
Declared interests
Prof Hannah Christensen: “Funding (paid to employer) for research from industry in last 5 years, including for work related to meningococcal disease, from: Pfizer, GSK.
Funding for research additionally through NIHR and University of Bristol.
Scientific Advisory Panel member for Meningitis Research Foundation.
Views my own and commenting in a personal capacity.”
Dr Michael Head: “No COI”
Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush: “No conflicts of interest to declare.”
Prof Andrew Preston: “I have received funding for research from vaccine companies, although not related to meningococcus or meningococcal vaccines.”
Prof Sir Andrew Pollard: “Director of the Oxford vaccine group and former chair of JCVI”
Dr Emma Wall: “I have no COI.”
Prof Martin Maiden: “I am a member of the JCVI sub-committee on meningococcal vaccines, but I have no other declarations of interest.”