Meningitis B vaccine to be offered to a million young people

Meningitis B vaccine to be offered to a million young people 42 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Smitha Mundasad Health reporter Getty Images Students will be able to get the vaccine at community pharmacies A million young people in England, Wales and Scotland will be offered a vaccine to help protect against meningitis B. The one-off programme has been launched after concerns over the UK's largest and fastest growing meningitis B outbreak to date in Kent this year and two further "unusual" clusters in Weymouth in Dorset and Reading in Berkshire. The two-dose vaccine will be available to pupils currently in their last year of secondary school and those aged 18 to 25 heading to university or residential further education for the first time this autumn. Officials say the programme will help protect those at "highest immediate risk". Meningococcal disease can lead to life-threatening illness. Aaron Mills from Kidderminster in Worcestershire was 18 years old when he died from meningitis in January 2026. He had recently started as a student at John Moores University in Liverpool and was home for the Christmas holidays. He had mild flu-like symptoms and on the 30 December he went back to bed with a headache. Thirty minutes later his family heard screaming from his room. "His eyes were open but he was fitting and unresponsive, he didn't know we were there," his mother told the BBC. Aaron's father said: "When the hospital told us it was meningitis I was confused, because I thought Aaron had been vaccinated, and we checked and he was. "But we didn't know until afterwards that there are different strains of meningitis." Currently a separate vaccine covering different strains, the MenACWY vaccine, is offered routinely to teenagers aged 14. "The impact this has had on the family and friends is horrific. The pain is unbearable." Mills family Aaron Mills had just started studying science and football at university Meningitis B bacteria spread through close contact - for example through kissing, sharing vapes and drinks or living in close quarters with a person with the bug. UK health officials say the risk to 18 year olds or those entering university for the first time is higher than to many of their peers because of increased mixing of social groups and shared accommodation. While each nation has slightly different plans, the one-off MenB vaccination programme will broadly be available to: Most pupils completing year 13 or S6 in the summer of 2026 - irrespective of their education plans. (Most children from this age group who are not currently in school will also be eligible.) Young people aged 18-25 starting university or moving into residential further education settings for the first time in autumn 2026 Two doses are required for maximum protection, given at least 28 days apart. In England these will be offered in July and August through community pharmacies and there will be no need to go to the same pharmacy for both jabs. Year 13s will