NHS rejects meningitis B vaccine

The government’s advisors on immunisation said that the vaccine was “highly unlikely to be cost effective."

05:52 27 July 2013

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that the vaccine that protects against meningitis B should not yet be made available to all the children in UK.

The new vaccine, Bexsero, has been 20 years in development, and was licensed by the European Commission in January. It is through to be effective against 73per cent of the bacteria that causes meningitis B.

The JCVI asked for more evidence that will show the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the vaccine before it would make a final recommendation to the government.

“Today’s news is a severe blow for everyone campaigning against this dreadful disease. We know every delay costs lives and leaves many more with life-long disabilities,” said Chris Head, the chief executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation.

Meanwhile, the JCVI said in their interim position statement: “On the basis of the available evidence, routine infant or toddler immunisation using Bexsero is highly unlikely to be cost effective at any vaccine price based on the accepted threshold for cost effectiveness used in the UK and could not be recommended.”