Meningitis B vaccine rollout begins for students – what you need to know

The Conversation UK reports that thousands of students starting university in England this autumn will be eligible for a free meningitis B vaccine, with participating pharmacies offering it from July twentieth. The rollout follows an outbreak in Kent earlier this year that was linked to two deaths. Meningitis B bacteria can cause meningitis and septicaemia, serious infections that can rapidly become life-threatening, and students are being prioritised because the close living and socialising of a first year raises the risk of transmission. The programme recommends two doses given at least twenty-eight days apart, and because no vaccine is fully effective, officials stress that even vaccinated students should stay alert to the symptoms.

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