Offer kids Meningitis B vaccine before Covid?!

[Marypoppins19]

Meningitis B Vaccination Service costs £110 per vaccination, and the two dose course costs £220. Many teens aren’t protected because it was added for babies in 2015, so you have to pay privately.
Seems mad when Meningitis can kill.

I’m not sure about before covid but they should definitely all have it. It really worries me that there was no catch up for older children when they brought it in for babies.

Both of mine have had it privately but not everyone can afford that.

I'm sure there will be lots of vaccinations we could make this argument for. But we're not currently in the midst of a Meningitis B pandemic.

When you balance the risk of men B verses covid though....

DS (19yo) has just had a text from the GP to book his.

Pretty sure I had my MenB jab for free on the NHS when I turned 18, so did DH. Is that not standard?

When you balance the risk of men B verses covid though....

My guess is that when you consider the prevalence of covid, whilst it's lower risk of mortality to children/teens, the overall mortality rate for the whole population is higher. Hence prioritising that over something like Men B. It's the needs of the many vs the needs of the few :/

I do understand your point as a parent though.

It’s available to babies and teens get the other stains but not B

Yes I always thought it was strange that my eldest didn't get it while his sibling born 20 months later did because it was added to the baby vaccine schedule between their births!! I would like him to have it but never got round to forking out that much cash for it......

I was told when my son missed some vaccinations (because he wasn’t allowed to have them due to blood disorder) when I asked if he could have them when older if he was better that they wouldn’t need it when older as you would build up a natural immunity with age

I believed it because I was told by a nurse and I’m not a HCP but now I’m doubting it

ImbarbaraB
From my reading up it peaks at different ages but worryingly in young teens which is making me think get it done

Do you have a link about risk to young teens @Marypoppins19?
When I read about it a couple of years ago (mine both missed out on the jab), I could only find evidence than Men B affected mostly under 1s, and then under 5s. The risk appeared to be vanishingly small for over 5s. But maybe there is more up to date research?

www.meningitis.org/getmedia/7a77a71e-4113-48f7-b0e6-eee01a64bfe5/Recent-epidemiology-of-meningococcal-disease-and-impact-of-immunisation-programmes-in-the-UK-Ray-Borrow

How do you get it privately?

Agreed OP. I paid privately for both of mine, youngest missed out by 3 months (born feb 2015).

Local pharmacy or travel vaccination centres

Thanks - I still can’t see anything about young teens?
The cumulative graphs show how incidence of Men B has fallen in the under 1s since the vaccination programme started - while the 15-24yr age group has not seen a fall in incidence in the same period (this age group being too old to have received the free jab).

Absolutely agreed. And chickenpox. Double deaths for children from chickenpox to covid in 2020. Albeit all the numbers are really very small.

Wow I didn’t even realise a child could die from chicken pox

My 2 haven’t had it yet

In fairness in 2020 around 25 children died from chickenpox. But less than 10 died from Covid.

So as much as chicken pox is seen as just a childhood illness that is a right of passage , we have to vaccinate them against a less deadly to them COVID?

Bonkers

Not vaccinating my children fior covid
Agree teens should be offered Men B- much scarier than covid

I had mine vaccinated for chicken pox because they had such a rough start I wanted to avoid all I could but I really think morally covid and not men b is bonkers

That was I assume the MenACWY not B

Meningitis B seen more in under 5s, teens get the MenACWY jab as those strains more prevalent at that age and beyond.