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)

Indeed. Lots of our now adult kids have had all the advised vaccines. This one hasn’t been available to them and that isn’t their or their parents fault. These students who have sadly died or are now ill, may well be fully vaccinated for everything provided by the NHS so this statement isn’t well thought out at all.

I am hoping the government will release official advice about it. I paid for my primary age children to have it when it came out so they had it 10 years so. I was completely unaware it would basically expire and they would need a booster. But is the booster just 1 jab or is it basically just having both again. Will definitely be making them have it before they go to uni. I do think it should be offered to students as soon as they start university. Seems a no brainer honestly

From reading the bbc page today it looks like the reason could be that the vaccine isn’t good enough. It doesn’t cover all types of meningitis B. Even if a teen had had a vaccine they could still catch a different strain. Also 2 separate jabs which do not cover you straight away. I have younger teens and did not realise they were not covered.

Unfortunately I think offering it at university would be too late. This outbreak includes several Y13s. Also there was the case of poor Megan Draper who went off to university in September 2025 and died of Men B in October: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crrerl0pw9do

A course of vaccination requires two doses, spread at least a month apart, and another 2 weeks or so are needed after the second dose before optimal immunity is achieved.

I really think the NHS website information on Meningitis B needs to be updated and made clear for all eventualities, including in which cases boosters are recommended, or not, and why.

I've now booked for my 14-year-old to get the first dose next week at Boots. He hasn't been vaccinated at all for this strain, like most British teens, and while I have always ensured that my DC had all their routine vaccines on schedule, no one has ever spoken to me about MenB. I really do feel that in the UK the ball has been dropped on this. If vaccinating all DC wasn't considered necessary or financially viable I would still expect information to be made available so parents could make an informed choice about whether to pay for this vaccine privately.

Importantly, don't share vapes or bottles.

CP is now vaccinated against on the NHS (young children).

Yes some clear guidance from the NHS would be good. I spoke to a couple of pharmacies about getting a booster for my DCs who had the full course around 10 years ago and they had conflicting advice over whether one, two or no jabs were required!!

What I was trying to check was if she had the one they do have age 14.

@HighburyHope thank you for that information

Does that mean older kids who had this will have about 7.5 years immunity.

Why only 17to 18 year olds? Is that because it is the age your kid is?

@zurigo that's an understatement re dropping the ball and the confusion around this is insane .

I don’t think it can be put as simply as that. The clinical trial picked a random date - 7.5 years after vaccination - and found that immunity had waned and that some strains were better protected against after this time than others. There was still a useful level of immunity in the cohort, but it bounced back quickly to excellent immunity after a single booster dose at 7.5 years after vaccination.

@HighburyHope thank you .
So in short of I get my DC another booster they should be ok.

No... the cost to the NHS would be enormous.

Instead the government should cap the price of private clinics and create an awareness campaign encouraging people to be vaccinated at their own expense. Maybe allow people to pay monthly too.

@BananaPeels agree.

Why is it so hard to get clear Comms on this !!

I’ve just looked 313 people got MenB last year. 900 got measles and mainly the under 10s who should be immunised anyway. I imagine the qualified data people have looked at this deeply and thought of risk/reward and cost.. Will be interesting how many people in total come out of 2026 with MenB.
They do need far more campaigns of awareness. It seems there is a slight culture of have the jab and we don’t have to worry. Sepsis presents in the same way, there is no jab for that, and that killed 48k last year.

The actual numbers are very small so I can see the basis of the risk/benefit but who knows if this will change if this break out in Kent gets back. 2 Dead and 11 in hospital and they are still trying to get a handle on it. I am going to do a booster for my DCs as soon as possible, although by the sounds of things its pretty hard to get an appointment!

How do we know that those who died from sepsis didn't have Men B?

313 people tested positive for strep b last year. Maybe a few more did, undetected, but not 47,687 ish more.

Majority of sepsis happens on top of another illness , pneumonia, cancer, infection. Sepsis is uncommon in teens, but men b is one of the notable causes when it does happen. They should be vaccinated.

I can see why the government decided not to give it to older children. The case numbers just don’t support it, desperately tragic though this outbreak is.

mine had 2 jabs aged 8 or 9 and I got her the booster at Christmas
aged 17, pharmacist said she just needed the booster not full course again. I was also confused and asking if she needed it all again but apparently not.

The Oxford Vaccine Group is currently doing important research on this:

1. They have a candidate vaccine for MenB which has performed well in early trials - known for now as ChAdOx1 MenB.1. The hope is that it will be better than Bexsero in terms of breadth of strain covered and duration of immunity, with fewer side effects.
2. They are also conducting trials into the usefulness of a single booster dose of Bexsero in those previously vaccinated with it, in the “MenB 220030 study”.

I don’t know whether an Oxford vaccine, if approved, would be cheaper for the UK Government than the current GSK one. The Oxford Vaccine Group (a non-profit outfit) is substantially funded by the Government, so maybe they would get a good deal.

Atleast the govt should have let the public know that they cant afford Men B and that it is recommended... if it wasnt the outbreak, I never would have found out.