Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of rolling out the meningitis B vaccination to all children born before 2015.

As my Rt. Hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, told the House on 17 March in the context of the meningococcal disease outbreak in Kent, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has been asked to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines to assess, for example, an expanded offer to older children and/or young adults. The JCVI will provide updated advice to the Department this summer around whether, and to what extent, a vaccine programme for older children and/or young adults would be clinically effective. This will also include an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of such a vaccination programme. The JCVI is required to consider the cost-effectiveness of a vaccination programme as part of their code of practice, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation#code-of-practice-and-conflicts-of-interests

The JCVI gives advice to ministers based on the best evidence, reflecting current good practice and/or expert opinion. This involves a robust, transparent, and systematic appraisal of the available evidence from a wide range of sources. The JCVI aims to work with key stakeholders while maintaining the independence of committee processes and considerations.