School immunisation services and pharmacies are reporting surging demand for routine vaccinations after the Kent meningitis outbreak in which two teenagers died.
Thousands of teenagers across England have booked or received jabs in the past fortnight against the A, C, W and Y strains of meningitis (MenACWY), and diphtheria, polio and tetanus (Td/IPV).
Experts said the increase in immunisation was a small silver lining to the meningitis B outbreak, which has also left 18 people in hospital. Latest figures show that only 72% of year 9 pupils received the MenACWY or booster Td/IPV inoculations in the 2024-25 academic year, well below the recommended 95%.
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have reported burgeoning demand for routine year 9 inoculations across England.
The NPA chair, Olivier Picard, said: “Although this has largely been for MenB vaccinations, we’ve also seen a significant uptick in demand for MenACWY among teenagers who have missed out on their initial vaccine from the NHS.
“An unintentional but encouraging consequence of this outbreak is that more patients and their parents are looking into their vaccine records to catch up on those that they have missed.”
The RCGP chair, Prof Victoria Tzortziou Brown, said: “The recent meningitis outbreak has shocked us all, but it’s reassuring that we are seeing more families take up routine vaccinations for their children.
“General practice teams and school immunisation services are already seeing increased interest and inquiries in some areas, and are working hard to ensure all eligible children can access these vaccines.”
The areas reporting increased demand for routine year 9 jabs include Hertfordshire and counties across the east of England, Greater Manchester, Berkshire, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, Wiltshire and Surrey.
Hertfordshire Community NHS trust, which provides school jabs in the county and across the east of England, said as many as 1,750 teenagers had received routine vaccinations on 21 and 22 March alone.
The trust’s assistant director of child health and immunisations, Caroline Shepherd, said: “Our community and school-aged immunisation service has received more than 2,000 calls from east of England residents who are concerned about the recent meningitis cases reported in Kent and are seeking advice on vaccination.”
NHS Greater Manchester said its school immunisation provider, Intrahealth, had reported a 40% increase in parental consents received compared with an average week. A spokesperson also said the trust had heard anecdotally of more young people contacting GPs to check their vaccination status or arrange catchup vaccines.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS foundation trust said there had been a noticeable rise in demand across the county for its adolescent vaccination programme between 16 and 18 March, when more than 780 phone calls had been answered, significantly above its usual weekly average of 150, and more than 1,200 emails had been sent.
A spokesperson said that parental consent for routine teenage immunisation in Berkshire had risen from 90% to just under 92%. “Demand for vaccination appointments has also increased, with 560 bookings now confirmed for upcoming clinics,” they said.
The trust’s lead nurse for immunisations, Charlotte Church, said: “The recent meningitis outbreak has reminded many parents of the vital role routine immunisations play in protecting children from vaccine-preventable diseases.
“We’ve seen a clear rise in parents coming forward to ensure their children are fully vaccinated, particularly for the year 9 meningitis ACWY vaccine, alongside the fifth and final dose protecting against tetanus, diphtheria and polio.”
The HRCG Care Group, which provides school vaccinations in Bath and north-east Somerset, Swindon, Wiltshire and Surrey has also reported higher demand for routine jabs.
Responding to the findings, Saul Faust, a professor of paediatric immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Southampton, said: “These data remind us that part of the reason for lack of uptake of vaccines overall is that people have forgotten just how serious vaccine-preventable diseases can be due to the overall success of the programme.
“It is sad that it has taken a serious outbreak to remind people how important all vaccines are to infant, child and teenage health, but great that rates are improving. Our challenge now is to work out how to maintain higher rates without the diseases coming back.”
NHS England’s director of vaccination, Michelle Kane, said: “It’s encouraging that parents are responding to the outbreak by coming forward and seeking advice on vaccination for their teenagers in some areas.
“While we don’t want people to be unduly worried, we’d strongly encourage all families to consent for their children to have the NHS MenACWY vaccine in year nine, which protects against four types of bacteria that can cause meningitis and sepsis – and to come forward when invited for other jabs offering vital protection.”
Secretary of state for health and social care Wes Streeting said: “Meningitis can be deadly as we have so tragically seen during the outbreak in Canterbury and my thoughts remain with the friends and families of the two people who died.
“Almost 11,000 meningitis B vaccines have been provided in Canterbury following the outbreak and I am glad parents are doing all they can to take up the offer of a MenACWY vaccine for those pupils in year 9.
“For too long we have seen a decline in vaccination rates and I hope more people heed the warnings from the victims of meningitis and would urge everyone to get their children protected from serious diseases.”
