Meningitis vaccine information

A number of surgeries in Norfolk have received enquiries from college age students about the MenB vaccination.

The UK Health Security Agency website clarifies who needs to get the MenB vaccine in relation to the current outbreak in Kent:

• Close contacts of those who are confirmed or suspected to have meningococcal disease
• Students at the University of Kent who are normally resident on the Canterbury Campus, including those who may have now travelled home. Some staff living or working in these Halls of Residence have also been offered preventative antibiotics and are eligible for vaccination
• Sixth form students (years 12 and 13) attending a secondary school or sixth form college in Kent where there has been a confirmed or probable case of meningococcal disease informed by local risk assessment
• Anyone who visited or was working at Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5 March and 16 March, when the venue closed voluntarily

The majority of students in Norfolk will therefore not need the MenB vaccine unless any of the above apply.  Eligible students will receive information from their school or university with details of how to access the vaccine. 

Students may wish to get up to date with other vaccines, such as the MMR and MenACWY vaccines, but these will not protect against the current meningitis B outbreak originating in Kent.