UK school leavers and new students to be offered meningitis B vaccine

One-off programme to begin in July after recent MenB outbreaks in Kent, Dorset and Berkshire killed three people

Teenagers in their final school year and young people starting university will be offered two doses of a vaccine to protect them against meningitis B, the government has announced.

The one-off vaccination programme, which will begin in late July, comes after an unprecedented https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/18/kent-meningitis-outbreak-has-been-contained-health-officials-believe">outbreak of meningitis B in Kent earlier this year along with clusters of cases in https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/17/three-meningitis-b-cases-confirmed-in-dorset-as-vaccinations-offered-to-young-people">Dorset and https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/15/father-tribute-to-son-who-died-after-contracting-meningitis">Berkshire that, together, led to the deaths of three young people.