Vaccination coverage against the main causes of meningitis varies significantly across England, analysis of government data reveals – as health bosses call on parents to ensure their children are fully up to date in the wake of two deaths in Kent.
Questions have been raised over the vaccination of young people after the outbreak of cases in the Canterbury area.
An 18-year-old pupil called Juliette and a 21-year-old university student have died, while another 11 people are in hospital, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which has confirmed that the strain of meningitis B (menB) is behind the outbreak.
Currently, there are two vaccines that protect against meningitis, but pharmacists have already warned of shortages at some pharmacies in Kent following a surge in demand linked to the latest outbreak.
The menB vaccine has been offered to babies at eight weeks, 16 weeks and one year since 2015, meaning those at university today will not have received it. The menACWY vaccine, which protects against four other strains, is offered to teenagers in Year 9.
However, the latest annual data from the UKHSA for 2024/25 shows that despite menB coverage for one-year-olds rising to 91 per cent from 90.6 per cent in 2023/24, it is still below the pre-Covid peak in 2019/20, when it was 92.5 per cent.
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It is a similar picture for the menACWY vaccine, which had a 73 per cent coverage in 2023/24, down from 87 per cent in 2019/20, according to the latest annual data
Analysis of the data at a local authority level during the 2024/25 academic year by The Independent shows up-take varies significantly, with coverage for menACWY for year 10 students the lowest in the London area (65 per cent), and the highest in the East of England (83 per cent).
It is the same for the two-dose menB vaccination by 12 months of age, with coverage in the period between July and September last year as low as 63 per cent in Hackney, east London and up to 97 per cent in North Tyneside and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of Anglia, told The Independent vaccination coverage was a challenge for the government. He said: “There are many reasons [for a low coverage in some areas]. Sometimes it is language, some of it is culture, and some of it is a fear of authorities.”
There were 378 cases of the serious bacterial infection, invasive meningococcal disease, in 2024/25, with 82 per cent caused by menB.
On Tuesday, Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, from the UKHSA, said the outbreak of meningitis had been “unusual”, but she did not believe there was a current risk to anyone outside of the Kent region.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s really important to reassure people across the country that there’s no evidence of wider spread at the current time but it’s important, in terms of vaccination, to make sure that your children are fully up to date with the vaccines that are available, and to be alert to the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease.
“Although it can be rare, it can be severe and devastating, and so prompt recognition, early treatment is very important.”
On Monday, in the wake of the deaths in Kent, charity Meningitis Now called for teenagers and young people to be vaccinated against meningitis B on the NHS, with children born prior to 2015 having missed out.
Former health minister Helen Whately, Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, also told Times Radio there should be a “catch-up” menB vaccination campaign for young people.
Some pharmacies in the Kent area are already running out of the menB vaccine following a surge in demand in response to the latest outbreak.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association, told The Independent: “Pharmacies, particularly in the Kent area, are seeing a surge in demand for private meningitis B vaccination but unfortunately are running out of stock (some places no stock left).
“Independent Pharmacies Association has called on the NHS to urgently commission pharmacies to deliver a catch-up vaccination programme targeted at university students and teenagers born before 2015.”
The government has previously said the menB vaccine is not cost-effective on the NHS for adolescents.
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