- Government advisers, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), have recommended that all teenagers in the UK should be offered a vaccine on the NHS to protect against meningitis B (MenB) around the age of 15.
- This advice includes a booster jab for those born on or after May 1, 2015, who received the MenB vaccine as babies, with their first cohort turning 15 in 2030.
- For children born on or before April 30, 2015, who were not offered the vaccine as infants, the JCVI strongly supports providing two doses when they are around 15 years old to protect them during a period of increased risk.
- The JCVI also recommends catch-up programmes to ensure that any teenagers who miss their scheduled vaccination do not lose out on protection, acknowledging that implementation may take time.
- This new recommendation is separate from a current summer programme offering two doses of the MenB vaccine to approximately one million Year 13 pupils and those under 25 starting university or other residential further education this autumn, following recent outbreaks, including a serious one in Kent.
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