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)

Does the Meningococcal vaccine 13/14 year olds get not cover meningitis B?

Yes. I knew a 19 year old girl who died of meningococcal. She was my flatmates best friend. We all had to get tested. Absolutely horrific for her and her family.

No - A, W, C and Y.

Those affected may well be students who haven't been vaccinated routinely, for whatever reason, or it could be that they are some of the many International students that study here, from countries that don't necessarily follow the same vaccination schedule.

They are not all university students. One of those who died was a pupil at a school in Faversham. Other cases are from schools in Canterbury and Ashford. The nightclub involved is in the city not on campus (next door to the railway station, in fact) so there will have been young people from all over East Kent there.

I think the bbc also said the Men B vac doesn't prevent transmission, so it would still spread through a nightclub, which seems to have happened here.

Yes, living in Canterbury, I know all of that.
It hasn’t been confirmed what strain it is. That was what I was saying - it could be one of the other strains and most Y13/Uni students could be quite safe. No one knows yet.

No. The one given in year 9 is MenACWY. The MenB vaccine has been given to babies since 2015, but protection only lasts a few years anyway.

Same shite they did about Covid.

Our point of view if that happens is that it'll be worth the hassle if it prevents us having the same day/week/term as the Canterbury school.

It's a lot easier to cope with the logistics of another school nursing team visit and a few idiots on the phone than it is making the calls home or telling the other kids that their friend is dead.

The vast majority of cases are in under 4s, mostly in under 1s. That’s why babies get vaccinated as early as possible in the vaccine schedule. Not sure whether that immunity lasts, it may not last longer than just getting children through the age peak in cases.

There is a second smaller peak in cases amongst teens. But it is rare. Personally I’d think that was worth vaccinating against given the potential severity but apparently it doesn’t seem to be.

I absolutely think university students should be offered this. Those saying theyve never heard of anyone outside of mumsnet paying for it, its something we did for my eldest born in 2014 just before it came in as part of the newborn vaccine program. A friend sadly lost her daughter to meningitis which frightened me enough to pay for it. I vaguely remember it was around £400 at the time but well worth it in my opinion.

My vaccinated both my DD’s against men b in 2017, no charge, I asked and there was no problem. Had 2 vaccines, the other was against other strains including w if I remember correctly. Our practice happened to be the university practice so they were very aware of the risks. My DD’s had men c as preschoolers catch up as it wasn’t offered in the country we lived in. It’s worth checking exactly what your children had as it definitely varies

We paid privately for ours (currently have 2 at uni). It’s very expensive and we are a low income family but I think it was worth it and I’d pay again if I needed.
I’ve seen too many cases on the news and I was worried. Paying for mine to be vaccinated gave us all peace of mind.
It was this brave medical student who persuaded me:
https://news.sky.com/story/student-23-who-lost-all-four-limbs-to-sepsis-calls-on-people-to-get-meningitis-vaccine-13371788

For those vaccinated against MenB a long time ago, they may not have immunity remaining from the vaccine, from what I’ve read.

“When reviewing all of the available evidence, the JCVI agreed the most plausible duration of protection was thought to be 18 months following a 2 dose primary course, and 36 months following the additional booster dose administered at 12 months of age. These estimates were based on the waning antibody responses observed in infant clinical trials.”

www.gov.uk/government/publications/meningococcal-b-vaccine-information-for-healthcare-professionals/meningococcal-b-vaccination-programme-for-infants-information-for-healthcare-practitioners#vaccine-response-and-efficacy

That is not the Meningitis B vaccine.

My DC b 2006 got a Men B vaccine at the same time as HPV in year 9. Found the email yesterday and she had it confirmed by GP today. None of us understand how this is possible as it doesn't appear to have been rolled out full. A trial? (England)

Yes of course.

I’m not sure what you mean. Meningitis is a very specific disease with known sources of either bacteria or virus and established treatments.

Your flippant comment about it is very insensitive.

The meningitis B vaccine only gives protection for a few years (less with a single dose) and doesn’t protect against all strains, nor does it prevent transmission. It’s not given to teenagers on the NHS because it’s not cost effective. It’s given to babies because they are the most vulnerable and the infection is much more common in babies and infants than in teenagers.

We don’t know what strain is involved in the current outbreak yet either - it might not even be meningitis B.

DD is off to uni this autumn, I got hers men b booster last week weirdly enough as she was vaccinated a decade ago. I knew someone at school who died of this so I was always going to get her the vaccine when jt became available. It is expensive, but not as nearly as expensive as a holiday so vast majority can afford it tbh if you cut back to manage it . And I speak as a single parent. I don’t think we should have to go private tho.

We paid for our eldest to be vaccinated against men b, cost £220. Also educated them on signs and symptoms. We have offered it to my middle who goes to college but they are undecided at this time

My youngest had the vaccine when they were a baby but I will again pay for private if they decide to go to uni (or even when they start college).

It's not cost effective for the NHS to offer it as a routine for older children. There's also very little education around it, even with GP surgeries. Ours told us that the men b wasn't necessary when we asked about it.

“Only for a few years”: Well yes, but look at this 2024 review of real-world experience on this: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11232649/#cit0135. It reviews studies conducted in the first decade of rollout showing that protection after the initial few years doesn’t disappear completely, as there is residual immune system “memory” which can be boosted with a single dose. Early vaccination plus booster gives quicker protection than a new course in an unvaccinated individual. In those vaccinated as adolescents and young adults, protection has been shown to be continuing at the 7.5 year mark after vaccination. This is a useful period of protection.

”Doesn’t protect against all strains” but some strains is surely much better than none, when the consequences of infection are so dire. About 8-10% of those with invasive meningococcal disease die of it. Of the survivors, another (roughly) 10% are left with life-changing consequences such as deafness, amputations or cerebral palsy.

”Given to babies because they are most vulnerable” - well yes, the JCVI recommended in 2014 that it be prioritised in infants. The vaccine was then very recently approved and there was no real-world, long-term data. Infants are the most vulnerable group. Adolescents and young adults are the second most vulnerable group. Does that mean adolescents don’t deserve to be protected?

”Not cost-effective”. That’s an economic decision. Other countries see it differently:

The nursing team just turn up. It takes hours and hours to prepare. Sending out the forms, chasing up parents who can’t be bothered to sign the forms, moving classes to make space, collating all the data of the year group because the NHS can’t be bothered to ask the local authority, sorting out timetables for the day, listening to parents tell us we should be ashamed to run vaccine programmes, then doing our normal jobs on the day, whilst signing in every pupil. Sorting , out coffees and teas for the nurses, because they need breaks ( school staff don’t have that luxury)
running round trying to find kids who don’t turn up. No it’s not easy. Then running medical on the same day, so having 50 odd pupils come for medical attention. No break. Then having to explain to parents that if they refuse, no they can’t get it at the GP. Because GPs don’t want to do it. Give schools the money they pay the vaccination team and we could do it all ourselves.
in fact. It would be more efficient and we could make some money for the school.

Ok are people living under a rock? It’s been recommended that university bound kids get it for ages - them in particular because they will be living with strangers in a quite intimate setting, but of course anyone who missed the now routine vaccine should get it.
But educate the pharmacist too! My DD was scheduled to get it at Boots but they refused as she has MS. She’s not supposed to have live vaccines but the Men B one isn’t live.
Same as for HPV; my son (22) missed the HPV due to age so he got the vaccine at 14/15.

People don't take any notice until they have children in that age group. And it costs £400, and people think their kids are already vaccinated because they've had a meningitis vaccine. All sorts of reasons that don't involve living under a rock.

I think that’s a bit unfair. There’s long been publicity about the fact anyone who has missed a routine (ACWY) vaccination should go and get it for free from their GP before going to university.

I don’t think there is enough awareness that over 80% of UK meningococcal cases are now caused not by any of the ACWY strains but by Meningitis B, that anyone born before mid-2015 hasn’t had any MenB vaccine on the NHS and can’t now have it on the NHS, and that you need to pay over £200 privately if you want it for your adolescent DC.