Offer teenagers a meningitis B vaccine on NHS, advisers tell UK government
Summary
Government advisers have recommended that teenagers in the UK should be routinely offered a vaccine to protect against meningitis B on the NHS. This includes giving a booster to those vaccinated as babies and offering two doses to those who missed the vaccine when they were younger.Key Facts
- The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises offering meningitis B vaccine to teenagers around age 15.
- A booster dose is suggested for those born on or after May 1, 2015, who had the vaccine as babies.
- Teenagers who missed the vaccine as infants (born before April 31, 2015) should get two doses around age 15.
- The recommendation aims to protect young people when they are most at risk of meningitis B.
- Each UK nation will decide whether to fund and provide the vaccine program.
- A separate summer program offers two doses of the meningitis B vaccine to Year 13 students and young people starting university this autumn.
- The vaccine provides strong protection for at least five years after vaccination.
- The recommendation follows recent meningitis B outbreaks in the UK, including one in Kent that caused two teenage deaths.
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