In July 2026, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that the MenB vaccination be given to teenagers as part of the NHS vaccine programme. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, or JCVI, is an independent expert advisory committee that gives advice to United Kingdom health departments on immunisation.
What has JCVI recommended?
- JCVI recommend that young people who have had a MenB vaccination as infants should have a one-off booster in four years' time when they turn 15.
- They also strongly support a catch-up programme for young people born before 1 May 2015, when the MenB vaccine was introduced for babies. The cost-effectiveness of these additional programmes is uncertain, but JCVI says vaccinating these groups is highly important.
How can you help?
Meningitis Now warmly welcomes these recommendations. But recommendations are not enough – we want the UK government to act to protect young people against MenB now. We are calling for the booster programme to be put in place by 2030, and for a catch-up programme for young people too old for this booster programme – but too young for the current one-off MenB programme – to be introduced as soon as possible.
Please write to your MP urgently to ask them to ensure that the government protects young people against this life-threatening but preventable disease.
We have created a template letter for you to use, which you can download below. If you have a personal experience of meningitis, please adapt the letter to reflect this so that your MP understands why protecting young people against meningitis matters to you. You can find out who your MP is here.