Free MenB vaccine: the first dose has to be had by 31 December

On 12 November 2026 the UK Health Security Agency issued an urgent appeal: the free MenB vaccination can still be had until 31 December, and more than 580,000 people have not yet taken it up.

Who is eligible

The one-off, time-limited programme is open to all 18 and 19 year olds born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008.

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It is also open to anyone under 25 who started university, or residential further education, for the first time this autumn.

The vaccine is free.

How much time is left

The first dose must be had by 31 December 2026. After that date the first-dose offer closes.

For those who get the first dose in time, a second will be available until 31 March 2027. The doses must be at least 28 days apart, and both are essential for protection.

Which gives simple arithmetic: leaving it to the end of December is cutting the second dose very fine.

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What the figures show

Up to 31 October 2026, 28.2% of 18 and 19 year olds had had a first dose — 228,297 out of 809,957. That leaves more than 580,000 who have not yet come forward.

Of those who started the course, 68.8% have had the second dose: 157,169 out of 228,297. Around seven in ten complete it.

The agency notes that real coverage may be a little higher, because the vaccine was also offered for the first time to students up to 25, and data for that group follows in the coming months.

Why this is being said now

There have been several outbreaks of meningitis B in England this year, and three people have died.

Dr Shamez Ladhani, consultant epidemiologist at the agency, also gives the seasonal reason: parties and gatherings inevitably lead to increased mixing, which raises the risk of meningococcal disease spreading among young people. He asks people not to leave it until the end of term or lose it among the Christmas festivities.

First year at university is a separate factor. The agency puts the risk of meningococcal disease for first-year students at around seven times that of young people of a similar age who do not go to university, because of social mixing patterns and other risk factors.

There is one more consideration. The bacterial genome sequencing study that explained why the March outbreak in Kent was so severe also highlighted the unpredictability of the bacteria: highly invasive strains can emerge suddenly, and similar outbreaks could occur again.

Where to get it

The vaccine is available from local pharmacies. Appointments are booked through the NHS website, which has a page for booking a MenB vaccination.

On side effects the agency is direct: the arm may be sore for a few days. Set against consequences of the disease that the epidemiologist calls devastating and life-changing, missing the vaccine is not worth the risk.

What to do today

If you are 18 or 19 and were born in that window, check whether you have had the first dose and book. If there is a first-year student in the family, ask them directly — they are unlikely to remember on their own.

And count back 28 days: to get both doses comfortably, the first one belongs now rather than in the last days of December.