LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - All 15 year-olds in Britain should be offered the vaccine against meningococcal B disease (MenB), an expert committee said on Thursday, changing its previous advice after the country's largest outbreak of the disease earlier this year.
The government will now consider the recommendation before making any changes to national vaccination programmes.
• Two people died in March in a MenB outbreak in Kent, southeast England, which health authorities said was the largest and fastest-growing ever seen in Britain.
• Adolescents in Britain — as in many other countries — are not routinely vaccinated against meningitis B, but since 2015, the country has offered a vaccine against the disease to babies.
• An independent expert scientific committee was asked to review vaccination plans in the wake of the March outbreak, and has now said teenagers aged about 15 should routinely be offered the vaccine.
The government will now consider the recommendation before making any changes to national vaccination programmes.
• Two people died in March in a MenB outbreak in Kent, southeast England, which health authorities said was the largest and fastest-growing ever seen in Britain.
• Adolescents in Britain — as in many other countries — are not routinely vaccinated against meningitis B, but since 2015, the country has offered a vaccine against the disease to babies.
• An independent expert scientific committee was asked to review vaccination plans in the wake of the March outbreak, and has now said teenagers aged about 15 should routinely be offered the vaccine.
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