Pharmacies in England report surge in demand for meningitis jab | Meningitis

Pharmacies in England say demand for meningitis vaccines has increased following an outbreak in Kent that left two teenagers dead and others in hospital.

However, experts advised against rushing to get vaccinated, emphasizing that it is up to public health authorities to decide whether the vaccine is necessary and for whom it is best.

The National Board of Pharmacy Association (NPA) says 87% of 300 pharmacies responded to a snap survey, revealing significant increases in meningitis vaccine requests from worried parents. These are generally only provided by pharmacies as part of their travel services, but some pharmacies had received 30-40 requests on Tuesday morning. Additionally, some patients have attempted to request antibiotics prophylactically.

“Pharmacies are experiencing unprecedented levels of demand for meningitis vaccines and many are unable to order supplies from wholesalers,” NPA president Olivier Picard said.

The clamor for jabs follows an outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease in Canterbury, confirmed to be caused by a B strain of the meningococcal bacteria.

Currently, MenB vaccines, which protect against some B strains, are offered to children at eight weeks, 12 weeks and one year of age. But the vaccine was only introduced in 2015, meaning young people going to university will not be vaccinated unless they pay for it privately. The entire course costs £220, according to pharmacy chain Boots.

However, young people are offered the MenACWY vaccine, which is available on the NHS for people up to 25 and protects against four other groups of meningococcal bacteria.

Unlike the MenB vaccine, the MenACWY vaccine also protects against the carriage of bacteria; This means that high levels of uptake in young people could essentially prevent community transmission.

Experts say MenACWY’s success has led to a decline in cases of these strains in young adults. MenB is the leading cause of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in all age groups.

This has led some charities, organizations and parents to call for MenB vaccines to be made available to young people on the NHS.

The mother of a university student, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “The government should offer the Men B vaccine to students attending large institutions where this strain is now known to be the leading cause of IMD in all age groups.” He added that at the very least, the government should broadcast loud and clear that students are not currently vaccinated.

National Union of Students (NUS) President Amira Campbell said there was not enough awareness about meningitis, especially when young people were going to university.

“Meningitis vaccines should be available for young people on the NHS; there should never be a cost barrier to life-saving vaccines. And until then, universities and colleges should consider offering this to their students to ensure no lives are lost due to a preventable disease,” he said.

Prof Adam Finn, a pediatric vaccine expert at the University of Bristol, said there was “some value” in vaccinating young people specifically with MenB vaccines before they go to university, but the protection was only partial and diminished over time.

But he said at this point he would “strongly advise” people not to purchase vaccines for their young adult children.

“Firstly, the two vaccines available in the UK do not cover all B males. [strains]. “And it’s currently unclear whether the strain causing this outbreak can be prevented in any useful way by the Men B vaccine,” he said.

Finn also stated that it may take several weeks for the protection provided by vaccines to be realized, by which time the current epidemic will be over.

“When you have an outbreak like this, it’s much better to have a coordinated response. And if there’s value in providing vaccine, you can be sure that public health officials will do it. They’ll get the right vaccine and they’ll give it to the right people,” he said.

Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, said the MenB vaccine greatly reduced the rate of disease in young children and was cost-effective for the NHS in this age group.

But he added: “The vaccine is not currently being offered to young people because the disease rate is so low, it would be too costly to vaccinate everyone, but it would not prevent many cases and would not meet the cost-effectiveness guidelines used by the NHS.”

Pollard also warned against becoming complacent about the decline in cases linked to other strains.

“Reduced MenACWY vaccine coverage in youth may allow these strains to return,” he said. “This latest outbreak is a reminder of the importance of getting shots.”