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

177 replies

Strandlover · 16/03/2026 11:34

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)

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80sbabyxx · 17/03/2026 22:13

Strandlover · 16/03/2026 12:46

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.

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I did it in 2016 when my little one was 2. They missed out by a year getting it on routine vaccinations so I brought him to Boots and got the two injections. Not middle class at all paid around £200.

Booooooooom · 18/03/2026 12:52

@Cluelessever yes me too

was chatting to an (openly gay) man at work who said he had had the jab as at one point it was offered in sexual health clinics as they found it offered protection against gonorrhoea!

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