Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent teenagers and young adults from contracting Meningitis B.

Meningococcal disease is rare, and the incidence has declined over the last two decades following the introduction of vaccines targeting meningococcal disease including the MenACWY teenage vaccination programme.

There is no current Meningitis B (MenB) vaccination programme for teenagers and young adults.

The importance of raising awareness in parents, teenagers and other adults about the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia remains key. There are a range of resources developed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), co-branded with the National Health Service, that set out these key messages and their importance, such as the teenage guide to immunisation. The guide is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immunisations-for-young-people

The UKHSA collaboratively produces a university vaccine communications toolkit. This is shared with the distribution lists of Universities UK and the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE), and is available at the following link:

https://find-public-health-resources.service.gov.uk/University%20vaccine%20communications%20toolkit/UNI24

In addition, United Kingdom guidance on the public health management of meningococcal disease provides clear advice on the management of confirmed and probable cases of invasive meningococcal disease, including MenB, to minimise onward transmission and further associated cases. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/meningococcal-disease-guidance-on-public-health-management