Meningitis B vaccination rates in your area as demand for jab surges
Analysis of government data reveals that vaccination coverage against the main causes of meningitis varies significantly across England; health bosses are urging parents to make sure their children are fully up to date following two deaths in Kent.
Questions were raised about the vaccination of young people after cases emerged in the Canterbury region.
According to the United Kingdom Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), which confirmed that the meningitis B (menB) strain was behind the outbreak, an 18-year-old student named Juliette and a 21-year-old university student died, while 11 more people are in hospital.
There are currently two vaccines that protect against meningitis but pharmacists have warned there could be shortages in some pharmacies in Kent following a surge in demand linked to the latest outbreak.
The MenB vaccine has been offered to babies aged eight weeks, 16 weeks and one year since 2015; This means those in university today will not receive this vaccine. The menACWY vaccine, which protects against the other four strains, is offered to teens in 9th grade.
But the UKHSA’s latest annual data for 2024/25 shows that although male B coverage for yearlings increased to 91 per cent from 90.6 per cent in 2023/24, it was still below the pre-Covid peak in 2019/20 of 92.5 per cent.
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A similar picture is seen for the menACWY vaccine, with coverage falling from 87 per cent in 2019/20 to 73 per cent in 2023/24, according to the latest annual data.
Analysis of data at local government level in the 2024/25 academic year Independent participation varies significantly; Male ACWY coverage for year 10 students is lowest in the London area (65 per cent) and highest in the East of England (83 per cent).
This rate is the same for two doses of MenB vaccine given at 12 months of age; Between July and September last year, coverage ranged from as low as 63 per cent in Hackney, east London, to as high as 97 per cent in North Tyneside and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of Anglia, said: Independent vaccine coverage was a challenge for the government. He said: “There are many reasons. [for a low coverage in some areas]. “Sometimes it’s language, some it’s culture, some it’s fear of authority.”
There were 378 cases of serious bacterial infection, invasive meningococcal disease in 2024/25, 82 per cent of which occurred in men.
On Tuesday, UKHSA’s Dr. Gayatri Amirthalingam said the meningitis outbreak was “unusual” but did not believe there was a current risk to anyone outside the Kent area.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s really important at the moment to reassure people across the country that there is no evidence of wider spread, but in terms of vaccination it’s important to make sure your children are up to date on available vaccines and to be alert for the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease.”
“Although rare, it can be severe and devastating, so rapid diagnosis and early treatment are very important.”
On Monday, following the deaths in Kent, the charity Meningitis Now called for teenagers and teenagers to be vaccinated against meningitis B on the NHS as children born before 2015 miss out on the vaccine.
Former health minister Helen Whately, Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, also told Times Radio there should be a “grown-up” male vaccination campaign for young people.
Some pharmacies in the Kent area are running out of menB vaccine after demand increased in response to the latest outbreak.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacists Association, said: Independent: “Pharmacies, particularly in the Kent area, are seeing an increase in demand for the specific meningitis B vaccine but unfortunately they are running out of stock (some places are out of stock).
“The Association of Independent Pharmacists has called on the NHS to urgently commission pharmacies to offer a catch-up vaccination program targeting university students and young people born before 2015.”
The government has previously said the menB vaccine is not NHS cost-effective for teenagers.
