{"id":834732,"date":"2026-03-18T20:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/834732\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:34:20","slug":"greater-manchester-has-some-of-lowest-meningitis-vaccination-rates-in-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/834732\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Manchester has some of lowest meningitis vaccination rates in England"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Greater Manchester, only one area has hit the World Health Organisation’s vaccination target, while another borough has has the lowest MenB vaccine rate in EnglandHelena Vesty<\/strong><\/a> NHS, social care and patients reporter and Richard Ault<\/strong><\/p>\n

17:43, 18 Mar 2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Students queuing for antibiotics outside a building at the University of Kent in Canterbury<\/p>\n

Pharmacists are calling for an urgent vaccine catch-up programme targeting students in response to a deadly outbreak of meningitis – as our map reveals Manchester has one of the lowest vaccination rates for meningitis B in England.<\/p>\n

Two students have died<\/a>, and more are in hospital as a result of the outbreak in Kent, prompting a surge in demand for vaccines at pharmacies across the nation. Investigations by the UK Health Security Agency have now confirmed that some of the cases are caused by the meningitis B strain of bacteria, also known as MenB.<\/p>\n

This is rarer than viral meningitis but far more serious, and can lead to blood poisoning or sepsis, and affect the brain. In some cases, it can be fatal. It is a strain most people are not vaccinated against.<\/p>\n

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Since 2015, the MenB jab has been routinely offered to babies on the NHS<\/a>. However, it is unlikely to have been given to anyone over the age of 10.<\/p>\n

A targeted vaccination programme has now started for 5,000 students in Kent. But pharmacists have called on the government to extend it nationwide.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, analysis of government data reveals significant differences in vaccine coverage for the MenB jab across England.The World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO\u2019s) target for ensuring maximum protection across the community is for 95% of infants to be vaccinated against MenB.<\/p>\n

But in Greater Manchester, only one area, Stockport<\/a>, has hit that target, while Manchester has the lowest MenB vaccine rate in England, outside London. Around one in six children in Manchester are not protected against MenB, with just 82.7% of infants receiving the jab.<\/p>\n

That has fallen from 91.2% of infants who received the jab in the year ending March 2018, soon after it was first introduced. Vaccine rates are also among the lowest in England in Salford, at 85.5%, while one in 10 children are not protected in Oldham (89.3%), Bury (89.7%), and Trafford (89.8%).<\/p>\n

You can see how it compares where you live using our interactive map.<\/p>\n

The UK became the first country in the world to introduce a routine MenB vaccination programme for infants in 2015.<\/p>\n

However, anyone born before July 1, 2015, is not offered the vaccine free of charge on the NHS, unless they have a specific medical risk.That means young people currently studying at university would have been too old to be offered the vaccine.<\/p>\n

They may have received the MenACWY vaccine, which was also rolled out in 2015 for teenagers aged 14 to 16, but this doesn\u2019t protect against MenB. Now the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) has called for an urgent nationwide catch-up programme.<\/p>\n

IPA chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said: \u201cThe strain has now been confirmed to be Meningitis B, which means that those born before 2015, teenagers and young adults, have not been vaccinated against it. Pharmacies, especially in Kent and the South, are seeing a surge in demand for private Meningitis B vaccinations.<\/p>\n

But supplies are running low, with some pharmacies already out of stock. \u201cWe have also had a lot of worried parents who didn\u2019t know if their children were vaccinated,” said Dr Hannbeck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IPA is calling on the NHS to urgently commission pharmacies to deliver a nationwide catch-up vaccination programme targeted at university students and teenagers born before 2015. There is not a moment to be lost in protecting young people across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meningitis, or Meningococcal disease, can progress rapidly. Signs and symptoms of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia can include a fever, headache, rapid breathing, drowsiness, shivering, vomiting and cold hands and feet.<\/p>\n

Septicaemia can also cause a characteristic rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass.<\/p>\n

Early symptoms can often be confused with other illnesses, such as a cold, flu or hangover, and students are particularly at risk of missing the early warning signs. If you or anyone you know develops any of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately by contacting a GP, calling NHS 111 or dialling 999 in an emergency.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MenB vaccination rates in Manchester borough(Image: Reach Data Unit)<\/p>\n

Knowing the signs and taking early treatment can be lifesaving. The UKHSA says that \u201cgiven the severity of the situation\u201d, it is starting a small targeted vaccination programme, beginning with students at Canterbury Campus Halls of Residence at the University of Kent.<\/p>\n

The vaccination programme may be expanded further as the UKHSA continues to assess the ongoing risk. For now, the UKHSA is prioritising antibiotic treatment, which is highly effective at preventing the disease and its transmission.<\/p>\n

Trish Mannes, UKHSA Regional Deputy Director for the South East, said: \u201cAround 2,500 doses of antibiotics have now been administered across sites in Kent and we continue to encourage close contacts to come forward for the treatment. This includes those offered at the University of Kent and anyone who visited Club Chemistry between 5-7 March.<\/p>\n

“This is the main intervention that will help protect people and halt the spread of the outbreak. As a further precaution and together with the NHS, we are beginning to roll out a targeted MenB vaccination programme. This will initially be offered to 5,000 university of Kent students resident at the Canterbury campus, with the possibility that it may be extended, as it is kept under continual review.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think you may have symptoms of meningitis, don\u2019t hesitate to seek medical help by contacting your GP or calling NHS 111. Seeking early treatment can save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the UKHSA is coordinating a national response to the outbreak, this does not mean a national NHS incident has been declared. A national incident is a formal operational status used when the health service is under significant system-wide pressure, which the UKHSA says is not the case with this outbreak. NHS services continue to operate as normal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Greater Manchester, only one area has hit the World Health Organisation’s vaccination target, while another borough has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":834733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[279,748,1285,393,4884,105,2465,211,1286,1170,1290,1288,1026,1289,16,15,1287],"class_list":{"0":"post-834732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-bolton","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-bury","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-manchester","15":"tag-nhs","16":"tag-oldham","17":"tag-rochdale","18":"tag-salford","19":"tag-stockport","20":"tag-tameside","21":"tag-trafford","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-wigan"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116252093324159211","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/834733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}