Young people in Northern Ireland are to be offered a one-off vaccine for meningitis B (menB) from July 31, the Chief Medical Officer has said.
It follows a series of outbreaks of the disease in England earlier this year, causing the deaths of two teenagers in Kent.
The Bexsero vaccine will protect against bacterial infections caused by by menB, which can cause serious illnesses including an infection in the brain and spinal cord, blood poisoning and sepsis.
With similar vaccination programmes being rolled out in England and Scotland and Wales, Professor Sir Michael McBride issued guidance across Northern Ireland’s health service on Friday.
Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer Sir Michael McBride. (Brian Lawless/PA) Who is eligible for the vaccine?
Those at highest risk include older teenagers and students under 25 who are entering higher education settings for the first time.
The aim is to complete vaccinations before the start of the 2026/27 academic year and the peak season for MenB in the Autumn.
Vaccines will be offered to year 14 students born between July 2, 2007 and July 1, 2008 and those up to 25-years-old attending higher or residential further education in the UK and Ireland for the first time in Autumn 2026.
International students will also be eligible.
Are any groups excluded?
Those excluded from the current programme will be those aged up to 25 who are not entering higher education for the first time.
Also not eligible will be individuals who have already completed a two-dose course of Bexsero in the last five years or a three-dose course of the Trumenba vaccine in the last five years.
A student receiving an injection in the sports hall at the University of Kent campus in Canterbury earlier this year. (Gareth Fuller/PA) How will the vaccine programme work?
The time-limited offer will see first doses offered up until December 31 and second doses until March 31 next year.
This will allow late attendees and international students arriving after the summer months to receive both doses.
The second dose of the vaccine should be offered a minimum of 28 days after the first dose.
It is advised that the first dose is accepted as early as possible to allow completion of the programme before the start of the academic year.
It will be available through a mixed delivery model, with young people advised to contact their GPs or participating community pharmacies near to higher education settings.
Further details on the vaccine rollout are expected to follow from the Public Health Agency next week.
Why does Northern Ireland need the vaccine?
While no major outbreaks have been reported in Northern Ireland, the recent cases in England have been described as “the fastest growing and largest cluster of menB seen in the UK to date.”
A different strain in the bacteria may have been the reason it spread so quickly, but the full significance is not yet known.
During the pandemic, infection control measures caused MenB cases to dip which may have reduced population exposure and immunity and left more young people vulnerable to the disease.
In Northern Ireland between 2023 and 2025 there have been 62 confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) reported to the Public Health Agency.
Of these cases, the vast majority of ‘Serogroup B’ were among those aged 18-25.
In the same period, there have been 3-400 cases of IMD each year in England with around 7% mortality, mostly caused by menB.
Normally, there are around five to 10 clusters of two or more cases in England a year.
In 2025/26, there has been seven clusters of three or more cases including in Canterbury, Weymouth and Reading.
Unusually, they all occurred outside the normal highest period of activity between September and January.
In his letter, the Chief Medical Officer said that it was in this context that the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt decided to rollout the vaccine programme in Northern Ireland.