Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce a catch-up MenB vaccination programme for those born before May 2015 who were not eligible for the routine infant programme.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an expert scientific advisory committee that advises the Government on eligibility for vaccination and immunisation programmes. The JCVI have been consulted on the immediate vaccine response to the outbreak and clinical effectiveness of potential future outbreak response vaccination strategies.

On the 17 March my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also announced to the House of Commons that he would ask the JCVI to review eligibility for meningococcal B vaccination. The JCVI will conduct a full assessment of the cost-effectiveness of a routine adolescent meningococcal B vaccination programme and provide a complete and formal response to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as soon as practicable.