Should 17-18 year olds get a catch-up MenB vaccine before university?

[Strandlover]

Vaccination for meningitis B has been on the schedule for babies since 2015 - but those currently at university were born before this so won't have had this vaccination apart from if someone has organised and paid for them to have it privately. (Only on Mumsnet have I ever known that this is a thing)
Given the tragic turn of events in Uni of Kent this weekend, should all 17-18-year-olds be offered this vaccine as a catch up before they head off to university?
(NB Don't know if this vaccine would have prevented this particular outbreak but I still feel that it's not fair to this cohort of kids who go off unprotected from a disease that younger children are now routinely vaccinated against)

Yes, I agree. I’ll be paying for DS18 to have it but I shouldn’t have to.

I believe that all 17 year olds should be offered the MenB vaccine. Whether they are in education, work, training or unemployed. For free on the NHS.

My DS will be sitting his A levels this summer and we will pay for the jabs privately. Just as I paid for him to have the flu vaccine this past winter. Which again, I think should be free for all 16-17 year olds and those in full time education until 21.

Are you suggesting it just for teens about to go to uni, as in not for teens who aren’t going to uni?
Regardless of the medical evidence about where outbreaks occur, I doubt that would go down well. I can see the tabloid headlines now “Labour willing to let students who don’t go to uni DIE”.

I think when this was introduced there was a very limited “catch up” programme which I think is unusual. Not sure why they did that. Although I believe we were one of the first, if not the first, country to offer this as a free vaccine so maybe it just wasn’t seen as necessary to catch up the slightly older children.

Yes I do, I also wish this was reported accurately. I think many parents think their children are vaccinated because they had men c. All the experts who are interviewed never make the distinction or make it clear that it’s MenB that’s the problem and this wasn’t introduced until 2015 so most haven’t had this. The government should step up and introduce a vaccination program in schools, it’s disgusting that we have to pay for this especially as many probably can’t afford it.

it absolutely should be on the regular schedule for teens to get vaccinated/getting a booster before age 16.

apart from the absolute tragedy of lives lost and health being affected by this illness the monetary cost is ENORMOUS.

If they sign up to a GP affiliated with the University they go to they usually ask if you've been vaccinated against meningitis and vaccinate you if not.

Yes I think they should be offered it, it could be open to all teens though not just those going to uni. It's clearly a massive risk for university students and there's something that can be done about it before any other young adults die or end up seriously ill.

I'm fairly sure that's not the men B vaccine though

The MenACWY vaccine is usually offered at 14-ish, so perhaps this is the catch-up that you are thinking of?

MenB is now offered to babies, but only since 2015, so anybody born before that won't have had this vaccination, unless they've sought it out privately. The government make no mention of MenB on their gov.uk web page so how would most people even know about it?: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/02/vaccines-for-students-how-to-get-up-to-date/
Similarly UCAS list the routine vaccinations recommended, and add that the MenACWY vaccine won't protect against MenB, but they don't suggest you could consider getting a private vaccination for the latter.

It's quite a Mumsnet thing to have a meningitis B vaccine privately, but I have never heard of anyone in my day-to-day life doing it, apart from one very middle class friend who has private health care anyway. Most people would accept what the NHS recommends (and funds) as being "fully vaccinated".

And yes, I agree it should be for ALL teenagers, not just those going to uni. But communal living in students halls, as well as being away from home for the first time, make it more likely that you will a) catch it and b) perhaps not seek medical advice in a timely way, if you feel unwell.

I agree about the reporting. I’ve seen stuff online about “stupid antivaxxers” etc, without realising these students could easily have had all their NHS vaccines

Yes but that’s the Men C vaccine which is free on the NHS for their age group. The problem is that those born before July 2015 are not vaccinated for Men B.

So most of those in primary school can get a Men B vaccine on the NHS. Those in secondary school and above have to pay privately.

A GP linked to a uni is still working within the NHS. Unless they also have a contract with a private provider. A private provider will charge approximately £220 for both doses required for the Men B vaccine.

I had not realised until this morning that eldest DS would not have had the MenB vaccine. Youngest has been vaccinated on the NHS. I think more parents and young people should be made aware. I’ll be booking DS in to have it privately asap.

Just to clarify primary school childen cannot get a Men B vaccine on the NHS. They should have had it as babies yes, but once over the age of two they are not eligible. It is not on the routine immunisation schedule after this age.
Practice nurse.

Has this vaccine been taken on and off the schedule? I had it when I was 12/13 at school. Can't remember if DC 18 had it but can't recall. Now it's back on the schedule?

Information from the BBC about the supposed limited value of a catch up campaign :-(

There are two different Mennigitis vaccines. One is on the schedule at 13/14, the other has recently been added but only for babies.

I think they should have caught up all children when they started to roll it out to babies.

And by that time I’d already paid for my two to have it privately. One of my friends put me on to it after she had her 2014 baby vaccinated.

A couple of years later a friend of my DD’s died from Men B- I wish I’d thought to tell everyone I knew!

For me the problem there isn't much evidence about how long it is effective from.

And if they need a booster- would they need just the one or 2????

Thank you for clarifying.

This is what I was wondering

Yes, I think there should be a catch up programme for those teens that missed out on getting it as a baby. I made sure my dc was vaccinated against Men B before they went to uni. We got it done at Superdrug.

We have DS the men B vaccine (2 doses done in Boots), but I remember researching and it’s not effective for even their whole 3 year degree? Not sure I am right, but it’s very expensive for how short the effects are I think. I do absolutely think all uni students should be offered this for free and not just the people who can afford to pay privately.

Until this evening I thought DS was up to date and as fully vaccinated as possible. As he is 16 it seems that is not the case.

off to hunt down a private men b vaccine!

The info on the Super drug website says boosters may be needed every 5 years

It must be very scary for the young people near the outbreak and awful for those that have lost children. Heartbreaking.

I do think this was fairly widely reported on at the time when they brought the new vaccine in though, we paid for our DC that hadn't had it to have it so they were covered.

I agree it should be included in some sort of catch up scheme by the NHS definitely (we just didn't want to wait for that to happen, surprised that over a decade later it's not been).