TIME-LIMITED MENINGOCOCCAL B (MENB) VACCINATION PROGRAMME
Following recent meningitis B outbreaks in England, there will be a targeted meningitis B vaccination programme across all of the nations of the United Kingdom, to accelerate control and to further reduce transmission in the population. The aim of the programme is to offer protection to young people before and at the start of academic year 2026/27 prior to when large groups of new people are expected to be mixing. This meningitis B programme will offer two doses of the vaccine.
Who Is Entitled To The Vaccine?
Cohort 1: Age based cohort - those with a date of birth between 2/7/2007 to 1/7/2008 inclusive (the 2025/26 Year 14 cohort) - regardless of when they left school or what their education plans are.
Cohort 2: Age under 25 (born on or after 21/7/2001) and starting Higher Education (university) or starting Residential Further Education (e.g. residential agricultural college) in Autumn 2026. Evidence to confirm starting higher education or residential further accommodation in Autumn 2026 must be provided to ensure eligibility,
Evidence includes:
- official email confirmation of their offer of a place at their chosen university or college from either the higher education (HE) institution (usually a .ac.uk email address) or the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) or the Central Applications Office (CAO; for universities in Republic of Ireland)
- a letter (hard copy or email) confirming they have received an offer of a place for the 2026/2027 academic year at their chosen university or college
- screenshot of their offer of a place at their chosen university or college from the UCAS Hub or the official CAO website
The practice will begin to contact patients in cohorts 1 and 2 at the end of July 2026.
The Vaccine Programme
Two doses of the MenB vaccine Bexsero® are required for protection. These should be at least 28 days apart. Where it is not possible to obtain the second vaccine from our practice e.g. the student may have moved in this time to their new place of education, they may access the second doses from a different provider or in different countries if necessary. Record cards will be provided to patients, similar to those used in the early COVID-19 vaccination programme, allowing record of the vaccine to be given to the second vaccine provider.
Further information
For more information, please contact the practice or visit https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/urgent-menb-vaccination-young-people