A new study from the Public Health England (PHE) published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that cases of meningitis and septicaemia among young children in the UK have declined significantly as a result of the infant MenB vaccination programme introduced in 2015.
The study findings showed that by the third year of the vaccination programme, MenB cases had declined by 62 per cent in children eligible for at least two doses of the vaccine. About 277 out of an expected 446 cases were prevented between 2015 and 2018 because of vaccination.
The infant MenB vaccination in England has demonstrated consistently high uptake along with other routine immunisations. In 2019, approximately 92 per cent of infants received primary immunisation by their first birthday and around 88 per cent received the booster dose by their second birthday. Nearly 5 million doses have been safely administered to children in the UK till date.
Dr Shamez Ladhani, Consultant Epidemiologist at PHE, said; "PHE is working closely with NHS England to make it as easy as possible for parents to access vaccines so that they can offer their children the best possible start in life."
