Meningitis vaccination and current advice

We have received queries about meningitis vaccines following recent reports of meningitis cases in parts of the UK.

Public health teams are managing these cases locally and will contact close contacts directly if antibiotics, vaccination or further advice are needed.

At present, there has been no change to national NHS vaccination guidance and GP practices have not been asked to vaccinate patients outside the routine NHS vaccination programme.

Routine NHS meningitis vaccine eligibility

MenB vaccine

The MenB vaccine is routinely offered to babies as part of the NHS childhood immunisation schedule (introduced in 2015)

MenB is not routinely offered on the NHS to older children, teenagers or adults unless they are in a specific clinical risk group or have been identified by public health teams as part of an outbreak response.

MenACWY vaccine

• The MenACWY vaccine is routinely offered to young people in school Year 9, usually age 13 to 14.
• If this vaccine was missed, it can usually still be given on the NHS up to the age of 25.
• MenACWY does not protect against all types of meningitis, including MenB.

Children born outside the UK

If your child was born outside the UK and you are unsure whether they have had the correct vaccines, please contact the Child Health Immunisation Service on 0300 365 0077 so their vaccination history can be checked.

The practice can only offer NHS vaccines where the patient meets the routine NHS eligibility criteria.

Private vaccination

If you or your child do not meet the NHS eligibility criteria but still wish to have a meningitis vaccine, this would need to be arranged privately, for example, through a local pharmacy or private travel vaccination provider.

When to seek urgent help

Please seek urgent medical help if you or someone you are with develops symptoms of meningitis or sepsis. Symptoms may include a high temperature, severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting, cold hands or feet, confusion, drowsiness, difficulty waking, or a rash that does not fade when pressed.

Call 999 or attend your nearest Emergency Department if symptoms are severe or worsening. Do not wait for all symptoms to appear.

Further information:

NHS meningitis advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/meningitis/

NHS vaccination schedule: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/

MenACWY vaccine: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/menacwy-vaccine/

We have published advice for patients about meningitis vaccination following recent reports of meningitis cases. This explains the current NHS routine vaccination criteria, who is eligible for MenB and MenACWY vaccines, and what to do if you are concerned about symptoms or vaccination status.