Meningitis: Health Education
(asked on 16th March 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve awareness and prevention of all strains of meningitis among students and school staff; and whether he has reviewed the adequacy of current guidelines relating to meningococcal group B.
Meningococcal disease, both meningitis and septicaemia, is an uncommon but serious disease caused by meningococcal bacteria. The MenACWY vaccine offers good protection against several strains of meningococcal disease and is routinely offered to teenagers in school Years 9 and 10. However, it does not protect against all strains. Other strains, such as Meningitis B (MenB), can circulate among young adults. From 2015, the MenB vaccine has been available on the National Health Service as part of routine childhood immunisations, but most students would not be vaccinated.
The importance of raising awareness in parents, teenagers, and other adults about the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia remains key. There are a range of resources developed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), co-branded with the NHS, that set out these key messages and their importance, such as the teenage guide to immunisation. The guide is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immunisations-for-young-people
The UKHSA collaboratively produces a university vaccine communications toolkit. This is shared with the distribution lists of Universities UK and the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education, and is available at the following link:
In addition, United Kingdom guidance on the public health management of meningococcal disease provides clear advice on the management of confirmed and probable cases of invasive meningococcal disease, including MenB, to minimise onward transmission and further associated cases. This guidance is available at the following link:
The Department makes decisions on vaccination programmes following careful consideration of independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI does not currently recommend a routine MenB booster vaccination for adolescents and young adults. JCVI routinely reviews new evidence as it emerges, and my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 17 March that the JCVI has been asked to reexamine eligibility for meningitis vaccines. Decisions on routine vaccination programmes are taken on the basis of independent advice from the JCVI. As ever, we will carefully consider its advice.