New Men B immunisation advice
Following recent high profile stories about child deaths from meningitis B, Public Health England has issued further advice:
Men B immunisation programme
Following recent media coverage about the death of a young girl from invasive meningococcal disease caused by Men B, many GP practices have had queries from parents about the availability of Men B immunisation.
This information is taken from Public Health England publications and the GOV.UK website (see below for details).
What is the national policy for Men B immunisation?
The Men B immunisation programme started on 1 September 2015 for babies aged 2 months, ie, babies born on or after 1 July 2015. There was a limited catch-up programme for babies born on or after 1 May 2015. The routine schedule is for immunisation to be given at 2 and 4 months with the primaries, with a booster at 12 months.
Can I vaccinate children born before 1 May 2015 if parents request it?
No. The national stock of Bexsero® should only be used to vaccinate children who are eligible for NHS vaccination.
Can I vaccinate children born on or after 1 May 2015 who have not yet been vaccinated?
Yes. All children in the eligible cohort (ie, born on or after 1 May 2015) remain eligible for Men B immunisation until the age of two years. When Bexsero® has not been given as part of a primary course, give two doses at least two months apart. Those children who have received one dose before their first birthday only require one more dose. Please see the MenB PGD for more information.
If parents ask to pay for Men B immunisation for their children, what should I tell them?
GPs should not charge their own patients (ie, those registered at their practice) a private fee for the vaccine.
Parents seeking the vaccine privately should be made aware that they will be liable for the full costs of the vaccine and any additional administration charges that the private provider may apply. We understand that GSK has supply constraints on the Bexsero vaccine for the private market. Practices must not use centrally-procured stock for the national programme to vaccinate private patients or any patients outside the eligible cohort (other than those at high risk as defined in the green book).
Further information
- Information for parents – please direct parents to NHS Choices or the GOV.UK website.
There is general information about MenB immunisation on the NHS Choices website.
- There is information for parents and professionals about MenB immunisation on the GOV.UK website.
- “Immunisation against meningococcal B disease for infants aged from two months. Information for healthcare professionals” from the GOV.UK website.
- The Green Book chapter 22.
- The MenB PGD (your practice should have a copy of the PGD).
Superfast broadband vouchers worth up to £3000 are available. (11 Sep 2015)
The government’s superfast broadband connection vouchers are still available to small and medium sized businesses in 22 super connected cities across the UK. London is one of the 22 super...Don’t let your NMC registration lapse – important information for nurses and practice managers. (11 Sep 2015)
From November 2015 anyone who allows their registration to lapse will need to make an application for readmission to regain access to the registrar. This could take between two...Updated Subject Access Requests (SARs) guidance from the BMA (11 Sep 2015)
The BMA has issued guidance Focus on’ guidance on Subject Access Requests (SARs) for insurance purposes. The guidance has been updated following the Information Commissioner’s Office input and includes...Training and development events for GPs and practice staff (11 Sep 2015)
Reflective Practice Masterclass (10 October 2015, 13 November 2015 and 4 December 2015) – Each master class helps individuals to identify both the organisational and psychological barriers to change and...Increased savings on magazine subscription packages with DLT Magazines (11 Sep 2015)
DLT are the UK’s leading supplier of magazine subscription packages to businesses. Offering permanent discounts of up to 70% off cover prices and a range of over 150 leading titles,...Egg-free flu vaccine Optaflu now available (11 Sep 2015)
MASTA, one of the Buying Group’s approved flu vaccine suppliers for the 2015-16 season, is now carrying stocks of the egg-free flu vaccine Optaflu. This can be delivered out with...Retired Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators update (11 Sep 2015)
Following concerns highlighted by practices in relation to the request from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) to extract data related to retired QOF indicators, the BMA’s General...Friends and Family Test - act now to avoid a breach notice (11 Sep 2015)
We are aware that there may be some confusion about the data required for the Friends and Family Test (FFT). NHS England data on the monthly returns show that many...Warning for practices over PBX phone systems (11 Sep 2015)
There are reports that some businesses have recently been victims of PBX (Private Branch Exchanges) fraud where a hacker accessed their phone lines and made premium rate calls at a...Speakers' Corner - Undergraduate teaching in General Practice. Your medical school needs you! (09 Sep 2015)
This month Joe Rosenthal, Senior Lecturer in General Practice & Sub-Dean for Community Based Teaching at UCL Medical School, gives us his view of undergraduate teaching in general practice....Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
