Meningitis vaccination programme expanded as case numbers continue to rise

The rollout of Meningitis B (MenB) vaccine has been widened to include more university and sixth form students, amid a continued rise in case numbers.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that vaccines will be available to everyone who has been offered preventative antibiotic treatment and to sixth form students in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases are identified.

This includes University of Kent students who live on the Canterbury Campus and other relevant halls of residence, close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases, and students in four education settings in Kent where cases have been confirmed, the UKHSA said.

Precautionary antibiotics and jabs will also be offered to anyone who attended Club Chemistry from the 5 March until it closed voluntarily on 15 March, the agency added.

Professor Susan Hopkins, chief executive of the UHSA, said: ‘By extending the vaccination programme to everyone who has been offered preventative antibiotics, we are taking an important additional step to protect those most likely to have been exposed.

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‘The message is simple: if you have had the antibiotic, you are also eligible for the vaccination.’

The expansion of the vaccine programme comes as the UKHSA confirmed that the number of confirmed and suspected cases linked to the Kent outbreak has risen to 27, with two people having died.

The UKHSA also said that 20,000 vaccines from the NHS supply will be made available to support private provision and ease the current demand experienced by pharmacies. These will enable up to 2,000 pharmacies to receive vaccines in the next 48 hours.

One Canterbury pharmacist told The Pharmacist earlier this week that they had been flooded with ‘panicked’ students asking for vaccines, antibiotics, PPE and hand sanitiser.

Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, welcomed the additional vaccine supplies and added: ‘Pharmacies have been inundated with requests for MenB vaccines in recent days so any additional supply is a positive step forward and we're pleased the UKHSA has listened to concerns from the NPA and others.

‘However, it is unlikely this will meet current levels of demand, with pharmacies getting hundreds of thousands of patients seeking vaccination in light of the outbreak in Kent.

‘Given this demand, pharmacies need support from health officials to help them identify those most in need on their waiting lists.’

Students who have been given the vaccine will need to return for a second dose in a minimum of four weeks’ time, the University of Kent said.

Meanwhile, 40 MPs have written to the health secretary calling for the government to introduce a catch-up vaccination programme for students against MenB.

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The letter said: ‘The need for emergency vaccination in Canterbury highlights our broader concern of the ongoing risk that MenB poses to students and young people.

‘These cases point to a clear and recurring gap, a generation of teenagers and young adults who did not receive the MenB vaccine when it was introduced in 2015 and who remain vulnerable in high-contact environments such as universities.’

The MenB vaccine has been available on the NHS since 2015 as part of routine childhood immunisations, but this means people aged over 10 years will not have been given the jab unless they received it privately.

The MPs urged the government and the UKHSA to:

• Ensure that the JCVI review is conducted thoroughly and quickly, with specific consideration of students and young people;
• Work with universities across the country to introduce a catch-up vaccination programme for students;
• Improve awareness so students and families understand the limits of coverage and potential exposure to far more serious infections while at university settings.

This echoes calls from the pharmacy sector for NHS England to commission pharmacies to deliver vaccines for adolescents and teenagers – including the three-in-one teenage booster and MenACWY.

Earlier this week health secretary Wes Streeting told MPs he would be asking the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to ‘re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines’ in the wake of this deadly outbreak.

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Meningitis is an infection of the meninges that can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves. The onset of illness is often sudden and early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics are vital, the UKHSA said.

Early symptoms, which may not always be present, include:

• A rash that doesn’t fade when pressed with a glass;
• sudden onset of high fever;
• severe and worsening headache;
• stiff neck;
• vomiting and diarrhoea;
• joint and muscle pain;
• dislike of bright lights;
• very cold hands and feet;
• seizures;
• confusion/delirium;
• extreme sleepiness/difficulty waking.

The MenACWY vaccination – routinely offered to teenagers in Years 9 and 10 – gives good protection against MenA, MenC, MenW, and MenY, the UKHSA said. However, it does not protect against all forms of meningitis such as MenB.