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Scientists comment on new JCVI recommendations for the MenB vaccine.
Prof Hannah Christensen, Professor in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University of Bristol, said:
“I led the Bristol modelling work on this.
“Meningococcal disease is rare, but can be devastating when it does strike. Recent new evidence has enabled us to update our models considering the impact of vaccination.
“JCVI has seen evidence from the vaccine manufacturer that one dose of the ‘MenB’ vaccine in teenagers who received the vaccine as babies could offer a similar level of protection to two doses in people who had not had the vaccine before. Previous modelling assumed teenagers would need two doses to be protected, because a national infant MenB vaccination programme was not yet in place. The UK started an infant vaccine programme against ‘MenB’ in 2015, and as those infant-vaccinated cohorts now reach their teens, a single dose could be enough to boost protection. Recent observational evidence has also shown that vaccines designed to protect against meningococcal disease could offer protection against a closely related bacterium that causes gonorrhoea.
“We developed mathematical models for two ‘MenB’ vaccines, assessing outcomes and cost-effectiveness for both a one-dose schedule (for teenagers already primed in infancy) and a two-dose schedule. For a two-dose programme, the models are quite sensitive to whether the vaccine offers cross-protection against gonorrhoea. If infant priming allows a single dose to be used in teenagers, this strategy can offer better value for money.
“The findings from our revised models, incorporating new evidence, are exciting because they suggest we may now be able to protect teenagers more efficiently. A single dose could be enough for many, since they were already primed as infants, and this changes the value-for-money picture substantially. If the vaccine offers cross-protection against gonorrhoea, that improves the situation further.”
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.”