Young people in NI to be offered MenB vaccine from 31 July

A meningitis B (MenB) vaccination programme targeting young people and university students in Northern Ireland will roll out from 31 July, NI's chief medical officer has said. It follows an outbreak in England earlier this year, in which two people - a university student and a sixth-form pupil - died. The two-dose vaccine will be offered to those deemed most at risk from the infection, including Year 14 students and under-25s starting university or a Higher Education institution for the first time this autumn. MenB is a bacterial infection that can cause serious, life-threatening illness including inflammation of the lining of the brain and blood poisoning (sepsis). It is spread by close contact such as kissing, sharing vapes or drinks, or living in close quarters - like student accommodation - with a person who has the disease.