A new time-limited MenB vaccine offer will begin this summer for Year 13 students and under-25s who are starting university or moving into residential further education settings for the first time in autumn 2026. The first dose will be offered from late July, with a second dose from August.
The move is aimed at young people heading into shared living spaces where meningococcal disease spreads more easily, and it comes after recent meningitis outbreaks. MenB bacteria can cause meningitis and septicaemia, both of which can lead to sepsis, and health officials say the programme is designed to give eligible students the two doses they need before autumn cases typically rise. Similar warnings have already followed outbreaks in Berkshire, including in stories such as B meningitis deaths in Berkshire prompt warnings after college student dies and Men B Vaccine and Berkshire meningitis cases raise fresh concern in schools.
Officials say the timing matters because the greatest burden after infancy has been seen in 18- to 19-year-olds over the last five years, and first-year university students face a risk about seven times higher than young people of a similar age who do not go to university. Students in the eligible group will already have been offered the MenACWY vaccine in year 9 or year 10, but that vaccine does not protect against MenB disease.
The programme is being rolled out while the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is still carrying out a full evidence review, making it a limited intervention rather than a permanent change. It will run in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as in the Crown Dependencies, and it also covers international students who may not arrive in the UK until September.
In England, community pharmacies will provide the vaccine subject to ongoing consultation with Community Pharmacy England. Year 13 students will be contacted by the NHS and sent a link to book a pharmacy appointment, while eligible university and residential further education students will be able to arrange a walk-in vaccination at participating pharmacies. The second dose must be given at least 28 days after the first, and it takes a further two weeks for immunity to build, which means the full process lasts around six weeks. The unanswered question is how many eligible students will take up the offer before the autumn term begins.
