A meningitis booster campaign should be run by GPs over the summer, Public Health England (PHE) has revealed.
In an update to the meningococcal C conjugate (MenC) vaccine schedule released by PHE, it was announced that students heading to university for the first time in autumn who missed the routine jab aged 14 should be given a booster dose.
Older teens are at an increased risk of contracting MenC once they enter higher education because the disease can spread quickly in in areas where people live closely to each other, such as in university halls of residence or shared accommodation.
Patients to be targeted include:
– Students entering university born after September 1995 who have only received Men C vaccine under the age of ten years.
– Any student of any age entering or being at university who is unvaccinated against Men C disease.
A PHE statement said: “Prospective students will be informed about the need for a booster dose of Men C vaccine through the Universities and Colleges Administration Service (UCAS). It is expected that eligible prospective students will attend their GP practice for vaccination from August 2014.”
The catch-up programme will run until all new university entrants have received a routine teenage booster dose, JCVI has said.
