To be angry at the government for not vaccinating our teens against Meningitis B.

[Socrossrightnow]

Back in January I became aware that there was a vaccine for meningitis B that we could pay for privately. My son is starting uni in September and I thought we would the save the money to have him vaccinated privately but hadn’t booked an appointment yet. I signed a petition started by a family that had lost their son to meningitis B too. Now the terrible tragedy has unfolded. I’m also confused why they are vaccinating some young people who attended the night club. From what I understand it takes weeks for vaccine to work after 2 doses a month apart. Why can’t this be done nationally ?

This current government or successive governments?

I'm not saying that teenagers shouldn't be vaccinated against MenB (I have no idea of the cost-benefit analysis) but what money and resources would you reallocate from elsewhere in an extremely stretched healthcare system to prioritise this?

My son is 17 this year, and I paid privately for the jab when he was around 4 so it’s been around a long time.

Is it part of the normal vaccination schedule now? I would hope it is.

This is an unprecedented outbreak. The vaccine isn’t part of the usual NHS schedule for older teens as the risk of invasive meningococcal b disease in that age group is usually very low - they are at higher risk of other strains of meningitis such as A, C, W and Y which is why they are offered vaccination for those strains.

As tragic as this outbreak is, people need to keep some perspective. The vaccine doesn’t protect indefinitely and doesn’t reduce transmission risk. Be aware of signs of meningitis and seek help promptly if any concerns.

If he was 4 when vaccinated he will probably not have much protection now.. I understand protection wanes after 5 years

Of course we should have all teens vaccinated -
but there is not a bottomless pit of £
There are many things we should have done -

of course the priority is the people in the centre of this unprecedented spread -

of course they are vaccinating the people most at risk of contracting it in the weeks ahead as it still circulates -

all national supplies are being diverted to Kent currently -

there are literally not enough vaccine supply or NHS resource to do this nationally at this time -

Well the vaccine simply wasn't available until a few years ago, hence why there's a good section of the population that didn't get it. Can't have something that doesn't exist.

In terms of the decision who to vaccinate, despite the recent news story, MenB is most common and lethal in under 4s and a catch up programme for all was deemed unlikely to be effective.

No not a routine part of immunisation schedule for those born after 2015

the vaccine lasts a few years only so your son won’t be covered currently

The immunity only lasts 3-4 years so you really ought to get him redone before uni as he is effectively unvaccinated now after such a long time.

Yes, since 2015.

Before this out break though would people have actually taken the vaccine if offered?. Look at the recent measles outbreak as an example.

I think our teens especially those of uni age went through the mill unnecessarily with covid which probably wouldn't have harmed them anyway. Meningitis can. I think they should be vaccinated so they can have normal lives and not live in fear of some disease meaning they have to hide away every few years.

Smart and good parenting.

I should have done the same.

Policy changes happen as evidence develops, vaccines come onto the market and commissioning makes limited funds available.

In my home country, all vaccines are private. Everything is paid for and nothing provided by the government. No one was preventing you from vaccinating your child. You just didn’t get around to it and you should have if you wanted to. You can’t blame the government for that.

Pointless now though if her son was vaccinated 13 years ago. The vaccine won't have any effect now. Perhaps its something that needs a booster.

We rely on government advice though. Our children have so many vaccines and boosters that you assume the necessary ones are covered.

I thought the issue with this meningitis was that it may have mutated in which case existing vaccines won't work.

Ahh we were told that as he had it after age 2, a booster isn’t generally required. I’ll look into it and get it done before he goes off to uni next year, thank you. Although as other posters have said, he’s in the age group at higher risk of other strains.

We paid privately at the time because there was an outbreak quite close to where we are.

The risk of invasive meningococcal b disease is highest in under 4s hence why we now vaccinate babies routinely. There is a lack of long term data but we think MenB vaccine offers protection for 3-5 years.

Risk of disease in older children is very low, hence why the MenB vaccine isn’t part of the schedule for older children.

Teens are offered vaccination in Year 9 for Meningitis ACWY which are the strains they are most at risk from usually.

This outbreak is tragic and worrying but we need to keep some perspective. Be aware of and alert to signs of meningitis and seek help promptly if any concerns.

You’ll be on a waiting list now. I tried to book one for my Y13 yesterday via Boots. No vaccine available at the moment.

Agree - my youngest two were vaccinated on the NHS schedule but I paid over £500 in the end for the two doses to be given to my oldest, money well spent in my opinion (this was well over 10 years ago) there should have been a catch up program 😥

It was the same when he had it before. He’s not 17 until the end of the year and won’t be going off to uni until Sept 2027 so we’ll get it done before then. I think teens closer to the affected area or going off to uni this year should get it first.

He had his year 9 vaccinations for Meningitis ACWY, I’ll continue to be vigilant about the symptoms and keep an eye on the news.

@Maray1967 - try local travel clinics
too, they offer the vaccine privately and although we were on a waiting list, we got it much sooner than friends who were on the boots/superdrug list.

I don’t think it helps that Streeting and the media/experts are saying that this outbreak is especially perplexing and that they are considering whether it is because MenB has mutated to be more contagious. If this is the case, then there are implications nationally, so I think the alarm in response to these reports is quite valid. And with students all heading home as it is end of the teaching period at many universities, timing could not be worse.

Close friend’s DD is home from Kent and on the antibiotics. She will go back for the vaccination between exams because a student in her block has it and is in a coma. She is not a clubber/vaper/or dating so the risks of infection seem lower based on the usual advice, but the fact that they don’t really know why this spreading so exponentially this time and the student is one she knew to say hello to, is alarming. Her DD would normally be hanging out with my kids now but fortunately they have exams so haven’t yet, so I have taken pause [and been relieved] that we have had no direct contact until mine had had their jabs.

There absolutely should have been a catch up programme.

It’s a bit much to blame the government for not initiating a vaccination programme when the vaccine doesn’t protect against all strains of Men B, and many people carry Men B without becoming ill. It’s not a straightforward issue and vaccine programmes are expensive. I don’t want to see money spent on healthcare that doesn’t work, potentially at the expense of health care that does. It’s available privately for people who want to make a choice, and arguably that should be a bit cheaper but a national vax programme seems unnecessary based on existing science.