Key facts
- UKHSA said 28.2% of eligible 18- and 19-year-olds had received a first dose of the MenB vaccine.
- UKHSA consultant epidemiologist Shamez Ladhani said the deadline for a first dose is December 31.
- UKHSA said a second dose will be available until March 31, 2027, given at least 28 days after the first.
- UKHSA said freshers faced a risk about seven times higher than peers who did not go to university.
- Eliza Gil of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the peak season for invasive MenB infection is typically December to March.
- Michael Head of the University of Southampton said there is a case for reconsidering the December deadline.
Fewer than one in three eligible young people in the UK have received a first dose of the meningitis B vaccine offered under a one-off government program, the UK Health Security Agency said. UKHSA figures put first-dose uptake among 18- and 19-year-olds at 28.2%.
The program was announced in June after an outbreak of meningitis B in Kent and clusters of cases in Dorset and Berkshire caused three deaths and left some survivors with life-long health consequences. Two doses, given at least 28 days apart, are needed for protection.
Dr Shamez Ladhani, a consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said the deadline for a first dose is December 31 and urged eligible people not to leave booking until the end of term. UKHSA said a second dose will be available until March 31, 2027, and that almost 70% of those who had received a first dose had also had their second.
According to UKHSA, people born between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2008 are eligible, as are people under 25 who started university or residential further education for the first time in the autumn. UKHSA said freshers had a risk about seven times higher than peers who did not go to university.
Prof Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said he could not be sure whether there would be more student outbreaks but called the low uptake very worrying. Dr Eliza Gil, a clinical lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the peak season for invasive MenB infection is typically December to March.
Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, called for universities to promote the campaign strongly to students in residential accommodation. Dr Michael Head, associate professor in global public health at the University of Southampton, said there was a case for reconsidering the December deadline and for a wider review of routine MenB vaccination for adolescents. The charity Meningitis Now and the National Union of Students also back routine MenB vaccination for young people.