The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published a new recommendation and additional considerations to Government on a routine meningococcal B programme for adolescents.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will consider the recommendation before a decision is made on any changes to the NHS meningococcal B (MenB) vaccination schedule.
This follows the unprecedented outbreak of MenB disease in Kent this year, which led to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care requesting a review by JCVI regarding routine MenB vaccination in adolescents.
The availability of recent new evidence related to MenB vaccination, particularly on the effectiveness of an additional single dose of vaccine in adolescents who had received MenB vaccine in infancy was taken into account by the JCVI in the latest review (the 4CMenB vaccine is offered as part of the Childhood Vaccination Programme).
The JCVI recommends a routine offer of MenBvaccine (the recommendation is for one dose of the 4CMenB vaccine) at around 15 years of age in those who were eligible for MenB vaccination in infancy (those born on or after 1 May 2015), also referred to as ‘primed adolescents’. The first cohort of individuals this recommendation would apply to would turn 15 years of age in 2030.
Additionally, JCVI strongly supports an offer of two doses of MenB vaccine for:
- adolescents born on or before 30 April 2015 (‘unprimed adolescents’) at around 15 years of age.
- adolescents who would be either too young to be offered MenB vaccination as part of the one-off 2026 offer (announced 12 June 2026), or too old to be offered vaccination through the 15-year-old programmes outlined above (this would be a catch-up programme).
While the cost-effectiveness of these additional programmes is uncertain, an offer of vaccination to these groups is considered by JCVI to be highly important on the grounds of equity, providing a bridge from the current time to the start of a routine MenB programme for primed adolescents.
JCVI also considered updated evidence on:
- vaccine effectiveness and duration of protection against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) following two doses of MenB vaccine
- current epidemiology of IMD and uncertainties with regard to future disease levels
- recent meningococcal outbreaks
- potential protection against gonococcal infection following 4CMenB vaccination
- cost-effectiveness analyses.
Professor Wei Shen Lim KBE, Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation commented: “Following the meningitis outbreaks in early 2026, a one-off programme for two doses of MenB vaccine is being offered to eligible young people this summer. Additionally, JCVI has now also provided Government with a recommendation and additional considerations for a future routine MenB adolescent vaccination programme for those aged around 15 years. DHSC will now consider this with a decision to be made in due course.
JCVI has kept MenB vaccination under review since recommending a programme for infants in 2014 (the programme was introduced in 2015). The infant MenB vaccine is highly effective, providing strong protection lasting for at least five years from vaccination. This latest recommendation from JCVI for a routine MenB programme for adolescents aims to provide addition protection to individuals over the time when they might be at next highest risk from this rare but serious disease.
JCVI is an independent expert scientific advisory committee which advises the UK government on vaccination and immunisation matters. The full JCVI statement is available at: JCVI statement on meningococcal B vaccination in older children and young adults