Meningitis: Vaccination
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the review of the meningitis B vaccination programme by JCVI will consider whether vaccination should be offered to individuals of any age who have compromised immune systems.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
As the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care told the House on 17 March in the context of the meningococcal disease outbreak in Kent, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has been asked to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines to assess, for example, an expanded offer to older children and/or young adults. The JCVI will provide updated advice to the Department this summer around whether, and to what extent, a vaccine programme for older children and/or young adults would be clinically effective.
Immunocompromised individuals at highest risk of invasive meningococcal disease, i.e. individuals with asplenia, splenic dysfunction or complement disorders, are already eligible for MenB and MenACWY vaccination. Details of this can be found within ‘box 7.1 Practical schedule for immunising individuals with asplenia, splenic dysfunction or complement disorders’ of the Green Book chapter ‘Immunisation of individual with underlying medical conditions’, which is available at the following link:
The JCVI gives advice to ministers based on the best evidence, reflecting current good practice and/or expert opinion. This involves a robust, transparent, and systematic appraisal of the available evidence from a wide range of sources. The JCVI aims to work with key stakeholders while maintaining the independence of committee processes and considerations.
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