Charity calls for meningitis B jab on NHS for teenagers and young people
A leading meningitis charity has called for teenagers and young people to be vaccinated against meningitis B on the NHS.
Meningitis B jabs are available on the NHS for babies, but children born prior to 2015 have missed out unless they paid privately for the vaccine. Meningitis Now is calling for vaccines for this strain to be rolled out to teenagers. Health officials have not yet confirmed which strain of meningitis is behind the outbreak in Kent.
Meningitis Now said: “We are launching a new campaign – No Plan B for men B – to address the rising concern of men B in teens and young people who are unvaccinated.”
It said men B is one of the most common causes of meningitis in the UK, especially among under-fives and young people aged 15 to 24. The charity added: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, cases of meningitis fell to an all-time low in the UK. In the years following, cases of men B disease have been increasing amongst teenagers and young people.
“We have effective, life-saving vaccines against men B, which have been offered to babies on the NHS vaccination programme since 2015. However, those born before 2015 are mostly unvaccinated against men B.
“We believe the men B vaccine should be offered to teenagers and young people. It is vital that we protect this at-risk age group. There is no other way to prevent men B disease – we must vaccinate young people to protect them.”
The campaign is calling for men B jabs to be given to those most at risk plus a booster programme to protect adolescents from 2030. It also says men B jabs should be available on the high street “at a fair price”.
It comes as hundreds of students have been queuing for antibiotics after two young people died in an outbreak of meningitis and others were admitted to hospital. One of those who died was a year 13 student called Juliette, who was described by her headteacher at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham in Kent as “incredibly kind, thoughtful and intelligent”.
The other person who died attended the University of Kent. A local nightclub said it has been contacted by officials to try and trace people who may be affected.
The Press Association understands that some of those in hospital have been put into induced comas. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has so far said it is aware of 13 cases with signs and symptoms of meningitis from Friday to Sunday in the Canterbury area of Kent