Meningitis B Vaccination Service

This page contains information about the Meningococcal B (MenB) Vaccination Service, which commences on 20th July 2026.

The service has been commissioned as a one-off Advanced service for administering a MenB vaccine to protect all Year 13 pupils and those under 25 years of age starting university or living in further education accommodation or halls of residence for the first time in autumn 2026.

Click on a heading below for more information

Background and aims of the service

Meningococcal disease is life-threatening and can result in life-changing disabilities such as amputations, hearing loss, and brain damage. It is fatal in around 10% of cases.

The viruses and bacteria that cause meningitis can be spread through close contact with a person who has them. This can be through kissing or sharing drinks or vapes or close contact with the infected person for long periods of time, such as living in the same home.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows there were 313 confirmed cases of Meningococcal Group B (MenB) in England during 2024/25, which accounts for approximately 83% of all invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cases, disproportionately affecting young adults and teenagers, as well as infants.

The MenB vaccine has an established safety record and is already offered routinely to infants through the NHS childhood vaccination programme. Infants in the UK have been offered routine MenB immunisation with multicomponent protein meningococcal group B vaccine (4CMenB) since 1st September 2015.

Evidence from the UK infant vaccination programme shows that vaccination has led to around a 75% reduction in MenB disease among eligible vaccinated groups. However, at the time of the vaccine’s introduction into the childhood immunisation programme, while the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) considered an adolescent vaccination programme, the degree of uncertainty regarding duration of protection and protection against acquisition of meningococcal carriage meant the Committee was unable to form a recommendation on the use of 4CMenB in adolescents, as there was a significant risk such a programme would result in a net loss of health in the population through displacement of other interventions within the health service.

The MenB outbreak in Kent early in 2026 was the fastest growing and largest ever seen in the UK. While the response to that incident has concluded, there have also been more clusters than normal during 2026, some of which have been bigger than expected.

Following the recent outbreaks, the JCVI provided the Government with an assessment on the relative priority for vaccination, if a one-off targeted programme was decided on by Ministers. Further advice from the JCVI on the considerations for a longer programme is expected to follow. Once JCVI reviews and updates its assessment of the appropriate eligibility for routine MenB vaccination, this will be provided to Ministers to consider.

This one-off vaccination programme will allow time for the Government to monitor and assess new evidence to determine whether there has been a change in the way MenB affects people and whether any further vaccine rollout response is required.

The aim of the programme is to:

Protect those who are most at risk of serious illness or death should they develop Meningococcal disease; and
Maximise uptake of two doses of MenB vaccine in the eligible population (estimated to be circa 1 million young people) within the prescribed timescales.

The programme aims to offer young people across England the opportunity to get protection against MenB through a one-off vaccination programme launching ahead of the 2026 academic year through community pharmacies.

The UKHSA estimate that the relative risk of invasive MenB disease in first year university students is substantially greater than in their peers. Data highlights cases of IMD tend to peak in October to November each year. The vaccine programme will, therefore, help protect those at highest immediate risk of serious illness as they move into shared accommodation.

Eligible students will be offered a two-dose vaccination before they start university or higher education, where close and prolonged contact in halls of residence and at social events can increase the risk of contracting MenB disease. Two doses of the vaccine are essential for protection.

NHS England is asking pharmacies to sign up to provide the service.

Community Pharmacy England’s view on this new Advanced service

The MenB vaccination programme will be an important step in protecting young people this summer and it is no surprise that the NHS and Government are looking to community pharmacy to help; pharmacies have a strong track-record in making sure vaccinations get to the people who need them most.

Community Pharmacy England was pleased to be able to agree this new Advanced service as a one-off service, and we are confident that pharmacy teams will be able to increase vaccination rates by providing a convenient and accessible service to young people.

It represents another strategically important step towards community pharmacies being able to support the delivery of all NHS vaccination programmes, However, pharmacy owners will need to reflect on the size of the eligible cohort of individuals before they decide to opt to provide the service (the eligible population is estimated to be circa 1 million young people).

Service specification, other documentation and patient eligibility

This service commences on 20th July 2026 and ends on 31st March 2027.

Service specification

Service specification for the Meningococcal B Vaccination Advanced Service (20th July 2026 – 31st March 2027) (published 23rd June 2026)
The service specification describes the requirements for provision of the service and it is essential reading for all pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other vaccinators providing the service.

NHS England guidance

NHS England is publishing guidance on the service in their Futures platform:

NHS England guidance on the Futures platform

UKHSA guidance

The UKHSA has published guidance on the vaccination programme and an associated PowerPoint slide set, which can be used to train staff that will be administering the vaccine.

UKHSA guidance for health professionals delivering the vaccination programme

UKHSA training slide set to accompany the above guidance

Patient Group Direction (PGD)

The PGD provides the legal mechanism for administration of the MenB vaccine under the service.

Community pharmacy Meningococcal B vaccine Patient Group Direction
The PGD covers the administration of MenB vaccinations to the eligible students and has been developed by UKHSA and authorised by NHS England.

The practitioners who can legally administer under the PGD will be listed in the Qualifications and professional registration section of the PGD and this will largely mirror the groups of practitioners authorised to supply or administer medication via a PGD under current legislation.

That means the service will generally be provided by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians within community pharmacies, but other registered healthcare professionals able to operate under this PGD may also administer vaccines.

Any listed practitioners must provide the service under the oversight of the Responsible Pharmacist at the pharmacy.

The PGD cannot be used to authorise administration of the MenB vaccine under any other NHS or private services.

Appropriately trained practitioners, who will administer MenB vaccines under the authority of the PGD must:

Download a copy of the latest version of the PGD from the NHS England website;
Read the PGD and ensure they fully understand its content, including the eligible patient groups, the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the record keeping requirements; and
Print off a copy of the PGD and complete the Practitioner declaration to confirm they have read and understood the content of the PGD and that they are willing and competent to work to it within their professional code of conduct.
If there is more than one practitioner in the community pharmacy or working with the community pharmacy who will be providing the vaccination service, one copy of the PGD can be printed and all practitioners can complete the practitioner declaration on this one copy.

The Authorising Manager declaration must then be completed. The Authorising Manager’s role is to confirm the practitioner(s):

Is/are aware of the service specification and requirements for provision of the service;
Have demonstrated their competence to provide the service; and
Has/have the organisation’s approval to provide the service.

In certain circumstances, for example, a community pharmacy where the pharmacist who will administer vaccines is also the superintendent pharmacist or pharmacy owner, it may be necessary for the authorising manager to be the same person as the practitioner, though this situation should be avoided wherever possible.

These steps must be completed before an individual practitioner is authorised to administer MenB vaccines as part of the service. Pharmacy owners using PGDs should retain copies, along with the details of those authorised to work under them, for 25 years after the PGD expires.

Eligible patients

The vaccination service should be offered to:

Individuals born on or after 1st September 2007 and on or before 31st August 2008 (current school Year 13 age group);

University freshers:

Individuals who turn 25 years of age after 31st December 2026 (born on or after 1st January 2002) AND are due to start undergraduate higher education in autumn 2026, including international students and those from the UK devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies;
Individuals who turn 25 years of age between 21st July 2026 and 31st December 2026 (born between 21st July 2001 and 31st December 2001) inclusive AND are due to start undergraduate higher education in autumn 2026, including international students and those from the UK devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies;

Students starting further education and living in further education accommodation or halls of residence:

Individuals who turn 25 years of age after 31st December 2026 (born on or after 1st January 2002) AND will be living in further education accommodation or halls of residence for the first time in autumn 2026, including international students and those from the UK devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies; and
Individuals who turn 25 years of age between 21st July 2026 and 31st December 2026 (born between 21st July 2001 and 31st December 2001) inclusive AND will be living in further education accommodation or halls of residence for the first time in autumn 2026, including international students and those from the UK devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies.

The GOV.UK website contains a list of residential Further Education settings in England from which students will be eligible for vaccination

The pharmacy owner must confirm each patient’s eligibility prior to the administration of a vaccine regardless of the route through which the patient has presented for their vaccination.

To be eligible as a person attending undergraduate higher education or living in further education accommodation or halls of residence (HERFE entrants), they will need to:

Fall within the relevant age group by date of birth (those born on or after 21st July 2001) (as above);

and

Present acceptable evidence at their vaccination appointment that they are due to attend HERFE for the first time in the academic year 2026/2027, as follows:
- Official email confirmation of their offer of a place at their chosen university or college from either the higher education (HE) institution (usually an .ac.uk email address) or the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS);
- A letter (hard copy or email) confirming they have received an offer of a place for the 2026/2027 academic year at their chosen university or college; or
- A screenshot of their offer of a place at their chosen university or college from the UCAS Hub.

The relevant evidence should include the name of the university or college that they are due to attend, the course code and/or title of the course of study, and confirmation of the offer of a place (either conditional or unconditional).

Pharmacy owners should, in addition, consult the list of residential further education settings from which students in England are eligible, to inform a decision as to whether or not to administer MenB vaccination. This list is continuing to be updated with information from across the four nations in the UK, so pharmacy owners should therefore refer to the online list whenever confirming eligibility.

Exclusions

Patients are not eligible for vaccination in the service if they are:

Aged less than 25 years, who are not entering undergraduate higher education or living in further education accommodation or halls of residence (HERFE) for the first time in the autumn term 2026, and fall outside the current Year 13 age group specified above;
Postgraduates and other students who are not entering HERFE for the first time in the autumn term of 2026;
Those who have completed a 2-dose course of Bexsero® within the last 5 years;
Those who have completed a 2-dose (provided those doses were given at least 6 months apart) or 3-dose course of Trumenba® within the last 5 years

Patients are eligible under this service if they have not received a full course of either 4CMenB (Bexsero®) or MenB-fHbp (see the service specification – Annex A for further information).

All people within the current Year 13 date of birth range will receive the offer irrespective of their education plans.

Postgraduates or those starting a second (or later) year will not be covered by this offer.

Patients must have the first dose of the 4CMenB vaccine administered before 31st December 2026 (and second doses offered until 31st March 2027) to allow sufficient amount of time for the second dose to be administered before the end of the service.

A first dose cannot be provided after 31st December 2026 in this service.

Second doses can be provided at any pharmacy providing the service. The second dose should be offered a minimum of 28 days after the first dose.

Pharmacy owners are not authorised to administer MenB vaccines to other patient groups as part of the MenB Vaccination Service. If a vaccine is administered to patients in other groups, the pharmacy owner will not be paid for that vaccination and the administration will have been undertaken outside the legal authority of the PGD.

Patient invitations

Those eligible in the current Year 13 will be contacted directly through the NHS app, text, email or letter depending on records held by the NHS.

The Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and UKHSA will also deliver a public information campaign to drive uptake among eligible groups.

The Government will work closely with universities, colleges, NHS organisations, student representative groups and professional bodies to support consistent messaging and successful delivery of the programme.

Pharmacy owners may want to consider how they promote the availability of the service to their patients and their community using any appropriate tools and resources they have at their disposal.

Before providing the service...

Pharmacy owners who are considering providing the service, should first read the service specification to ensure they are able to meet NHS England’s minimum requirements. These include:

Pharmacy owners must be satisfactorily providing all Essential Services and be compliant with the clinical governance requirements of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework;
Pharmacy owners must already be providing at least one NHS commissioned vaccination service and one service that involves the assessment or treatment of children (for example, the NHS Pharmacy First Service) to be able to provide this service;
Staff who will provide the service must be competent to provide the service (see the below section on training requirements and resources for further details); and
Staff who will provide the service must have an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate, with checks against the children’s barred list.

Other requirements or matters that pharmacy owners should consider before providing the service are detailed below.

Distance selling premises (DSP) pharmacies

DSPs can provide the service, but not on their pharmacy premises; they would be able to seek permission from the regional NHS England vaccination team to provide the service off the pharmacy premises.

Signing up to provide the service

If you want to sign-up to provide the service, you need to notify NHS England that you intend to provide the service by completion of an electronic registration declaration by 11.59pm on 20th July 2026.

However, you must register for the service by 6th July 2026 if you would like to start offering appointments on NBS from the service commencement date (20th July). In that case, as long as you have a minimum of one booking made via NBS from 20th July, the pharmacy will receive stock on time to administer it to the patient.

Pharmacy owners must complete a separate registration for each pharmacy site; there is no option available for bulk registration of pharmacy sites for this service.

Due to the short duration of this vaccination programme, any registration received after the 20th July 2026 deadline will not be accepted and pharmacy owners will not be able to provide the service.

Pharmacy owner implementation checklist for the NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service
A checklist to help pharmacy owners to prepare for and to provide the service.

Vaccinator implementation checklist for the NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service
This checklist provides suggested actions that vaccinators need to undertake to prepare to provide the service.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Pharmacy owners must have an SOP in place for provision of the service, having regard to the requirements of the PGD and service specification, and which covers the following points as a minimum:

The provision of the service to patients and the roles of different staff members, including the training required for staff members;
The ongoing conditions under which the service needs to be provided (set out in the service specification);
Cold chain integrity;
Needle stick injuries;
The process for escalating any issues (clinical and non-clinical) identified during provision of the service and signposting details that can be used to guide patients to further support, where needed;
The identification and management of adverse reactions;
Record keeping requirements; and
The handling, removal and safe disposal of any clinical waste related to the provision of the service.

All pharmacy staff involved in the provision of the service, must be familiar with and adhere to the SOP. The SOPs should be reviewed regularly by the pharmacy owner, including following any significant incident or change to the service.

Premises requirements

The pharmacy (except for DSP pharmacies) must have a consultation room in which to provide the service, which meets the requirements of the Terms of Service.

The vaccination must take place in the consultation room wherever the patient, patient’s parent or guardian expresses this preference.

Vaccinations can also be offered in any area of the pharmacy where suitable facilities are available, infection prevention and control standards can be maintained and patient confidentiality and dignity is able to be respected.

Pharmacy owners must appropriately dispose of any clinical waste or personal protective equipment (PPE) used during the vaccination process and will therefore, need to ensure they have contracted for a suitable clinical waste disposal service for their pharmacy premises.

Professional oversight

The responsible pharmacist (RP) at the registered pharmacy premises is professionally responsible for overseeing this service.

If the RP is unable to provide sufficient oversight, for example due to workload or where vaccinations are undertaken off the pharmacy premises, an on-site pharmacist or pharmacy technician responsible for the delivery of the service must be linked and work closely with the RP and Superintendent Pharmacist through an appropriate governance framework to ensure appropriate oversight of the service.

Vaccine for use in the service

The vaccine to be administered in this service is the 4CMenB vaccine (Bexsero® SmPC). It is made from 3 Neisseria (N) meningitidis proteins produced by recombinant DNA technology and a preparation of N. meningitidis group B outer membrane vesicles.

It is a non-live vaccine administered by intramuscular injection.

Patients must be provided with two doses of 4CMenB; the second dose should be administered at least 28 days after the first dose.

Ordering the vaccine

4CMenB vaccine will be supplied by NHS England to pharmacies from centrally procured stock.

Download NHS England’s Vaccine Supply and Ordering Guidance for Providers

Ordering will be undertaken through the NHS England Federated Data Platform (FDP).

The FDP is the national data platform managed by NHS England that hosts the vaccine supply and ordering tools that will be used for the service.

Pharmacy owners must register for access to FDP to be able to order vaccines. The platform will also be used for the submission of vaccine stocktakes.

Guidance on how to register to access the FDP

FDP training guides are available via the Futures NHS platform (login required).

Pharmacy owners will be able to order a minimum quantity of 10 4CMenB vaccines (single pre-filled syringes which are supplied in a pack of 10) from the FDP.

Participating pharmacies who register to provide the service by 6th July 2026 will receive vaccine supply by 20th July 2026 (the service commencement date).

Pharmacy owners may only request subsequent supply of 4CMenB when:

The pharmacy has recorded administration of at least 50% of the previously supplied doses for any vaccinations administered before 31st December 2026 and 70% for any vaccinations administered after 31st December 2026; and
Their current stock levels are confirmed to be below one pack; and
They have appointments listed on NBS, which comply with the requirements set out in the service specification (at least 100 appointments per month after the pharmacy’s service commencement); or
NBS booked appointments indicate a need for additional supply.

Any order placed by a pharmacy owner that does not meet the above requirements will be deferred until the pharmacy owner evidences they have been met.

Pharmacy owners must submit a valid stocktake in FDP within 7 days of any requests for additional vaccine; failure to report vaccine usage or stock levels accurately may result in temporary suspension of supply of the vaccine.

There is no reimbursement payment for vaccine stock that has been centrally procured, as it will be provided free-of-charge to pharmacy owners.

Pharmacy owners will be responsible for the supply of suitable needles to be used with the pre-filled syringe of the 4CMenB vaccine. The UKHSA has advised that a 25mm 23 gauge (blue hub) or 25mm 25 gauge (orange hub) needle should be used.

National Booking Service (NBS)

NBS will be used by patients, parents and guardians to book vaccination appointments at pharmacies.

Pharmacy owners must offer vaccinations through NBS to patient, parents and guardians, and the service specification states that:

Accurate information must be published and appointment or clinic times be uploaded in a timely way to allow bookings to take place;
At least 100 appointments must be listed per month from the service commencement date; and
Appointments should be available at various times throughout the pharmacy’s full opening hours, including late afternoons and Saturdays (where the pharmacy is open on Saturdays).

Where a pharmacy owner does not already have access to NBS, as part of other vaccination services, they can complete an NBS form to request access. Bookable appointments come from availability published by pharmacy owners in the Manage Your Appointments (MYA) system.

Once access is granted, pharmacy owners will need to complete their site set up.

Manage Your Appointments (MYA) system

Pharmacy owners should ensure they check their site details, set up additional users on MYA and create availability for MenB appointments in line with the service requirements.

NHS England guidance on use of MYA

MYA training videos on the Futures platform (login required).

Updating NHS Profile Manager

Additionally, the pharmacy owner must offer vaccinations through advertised walk-in clinics via the Pharmacy Services Finder. The walk-in clinic times offered should promote access to the service, including late afternoons and Saturdays, where the pharmacy is open on Saturdays.

Pharmacy owners will be able to add the details of their walk-in clinic times via NHS Profile Manager.

Provision of the service off the pharmacy premises

Vaccinations can also be undertaken in other suitable locations, such as a university campus or community venues (e.g. community centres).

Pharmacy owners must obtain consent from the NHS England regional vaccinations team if they wish to carry out vaccinations at a location off the pharmacy premises.

There are various matters that a pharmacy owner will need to consider ahead of any provision of the service off the pharmacy premises, including:

Professional oversight: Where vaccinations are undertaken off the pharmacy premises, pharmacy owners must ensure there is an on-site pharmacist or pharmacy technician responsible for the delivery of the service (or delivering the vaccination service themselves) and who will ensure provision of the service is in line with the requirements of the service specification.

The setting used for vaccination: pharmacy owners must ensure that the setting used to administer the vaccinations is appropriate, including ensuring patient confidentiality and dignity.

Support staff: vaccinators should consider being accompanied by a trained pharmacy support staff member. The primary role of the support staff member would be to assist in the event of an emergency, but they could also undertake administrative tasks and, where necessary, act as a chaperone.

Clinical waste: pharmacy owners must appropriately dispose of any clinical waste or PPE used during the vaccination process. That should include ensuring they meet the requirements of waste disposal legislation in relation to transferring pharmaceutical waste from the site of vaccination back to the pharmacy premises for subsequent safe disposal.

Maintaining the cold chain: vaccinators must ensure that the cold chain storage of the vaccines is maintained. Vaccines should be taken from the pharmacy fridge and placed into an appropriate validated cool box (which will maintain the vaccines at a temperature between 2˚C and 8˚C) just before travel to the off-site location.

The vaccines should be kept in their packaging and should be insulated from the cooling system within the cool box, e.g. using bubble wrap, to avoid the risk of freezing.

Professional standards: when considering any provision of the MenB vaccination services outside the pharmacy, pharmacy owners and their pharmacists/pharmacy technicians must ensure they continue to comply with all professional standards.

Any planning or risk assessments undertaken ahead of off-site provision need to keep these standards central to considerations of how to provide the service, as they will offer a useful framework to help decision making.

Indemnity insurance: pharmacy owners must ensure their professional indemnity cover applies to provision of the service off the pharmacy premises.

Engagement with local GP practices

Prior to provision of the service, pharmacy owners may want to engage with local general practices to make them aware the pharmacy is participating in this service.

A letter / email template to support pharmacy owners to notify GP practices that the pharmacy will be providing the service is available below.

GP letter/email service notification template (Microsoft Word)

A briefing to provide information for general practice teams on the service is available to assist pharmacy owners to engage their local colleagues.

Briefing 011/26: Briefing for general practice teams: NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service – Community Pharmacy England

Training requirements and resources

Staff providing the service and administering vaccines will need to be authorised to operate under the PGD. That means the service will generally be provided by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians within community pharmacies, but other registered healthcare professionals able to operate under PGDs may also administer vaccines.

Any pharmacy staff involved in the provision of the service should receive appropriate training relevant to the role they will undertake and pharmacy owners are required to demonstrate that all staff providing the service in their pharmacy have the skills and knowledge needed to do so, including working within the relevant systems and processes set out by the pharmacy owner and understanding how to report concerns, should any be identified.

The content of training for vaccinators

Vaccinators providing the service must have undertaken appropriate training in line with the National minimum standards and core curriculum for vaccination training.

This document describes the training that should be given to all practitioners engaging in any aspect of immunisation so that they are able to confidently, competently and effectively promote and administer vaccinations.

The document was updated in June 2025 and replaces the previous training standards for registered healthcare practitioners and healthcare support workers.

Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other vaccinators who will administer the MenB vaccine must have completed practical training in vaccination that meets the requirements set out in the document.

The frequency of training

Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other vaccinators providing the service need to attend face-to-face refresher training periodically.

This refresher training should help to ensure consistency of practice, provide peer support and allow discussion of any clinical issues that are arising in practice.

Pharmacy owners and vaccinators will need to consider when it would be appropriate to attend refresher training or if ongoing competence of an individual vaccinator can be evidenced, without the need for face-to-face training.

An individual’s continued competence may be influenced by their prior experience vaccinating patients, including the overall number of vaccines administered and the regularity with which they administer vaccines.

Understanding the relevant clinical guidance

The service specification requires that the pharmacy owner ensures vaccinators have read and understood the clinical guidance available in relation to the service and that they have a process in place to check any updates to these documents.

Vaccinators must also have the knowledge to recognise the signs and symptoms of meningitis and sepsis and must be able to communicate these to patients.

There is no specific NHS/e-learning for healthcare training programme related to this MenB vaccination programme. The key sources of clinical guidance in relation to this service, which can be used for staff training, are:

Assessment of vaccinator competency

The National minimum standards and core curriculum for vaccination training recommends that immunisers should keep a portfolio of completed competency checklists, knowledge test score sheets, reflective logs, completion of e-learning course certificates and certificates of attendance at immunisation training courses and updates.

This will provide vaccinators with a means to be able to show evidence of completion of training and achievement of competence to both current and future employers. It will also provide useful evidence of continuing professional development for professional revalidation.

Pharmacy owners must ensure that vaccinators are competent to provide the service and they must keep evidence of competency relating to any staff that they employ or engage to provide the service.

The Declaration of Competence (DoC) approach, using the Vaccination Services DoC (hosted on the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education website) is one way which pharmacy professionals providing the service can demonstrate their competence to the pharmacy owner.

Alternatively, the competence of any vaccinators can be assured using the National minimum standards and core curriculum for vaccination training competency assessment tool in appendix A of the guidance.

This can be used as a self-assessment tool, an assessment tool for use with a supervisor or both depending on the previous experience of the vaccinator.

The recommendations that accompany the assessment tool advise that all new vaccinators should complete the competency assessment for formal assessment and sign-off of their clinical competency.

Any vaccinators returning to vaccination after a prolonged interval should also complete appropriate update training and the appropriate vaccination competency assessment. As the circumstances and training needs for individual practitioners returning to vaccination will vary, there is no defined time interval for ‘prolonged,’ but vaccinators and their supervisors need to be assured of their competence before they provide the service.

Guidance and resources for pharmacy teams

This section contains additional information and resources to support pharmacy owners and their teams to provide the MenB Vaccination Service.

Community Pharmacy England resources

Pharmacy owner implementation checklist for the NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service
A checklist to help pharmacy owners to prepare for and to provide the service.

Vaccinator implementation checklist for the NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service
This checklist provides suggested actions that vaccinators need to undertake to prepare to provide the service.

Pharmacy team briefing for the NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service
This Briefing is to assist pharmacy owners to engage and brief their team members about the service.

GP letter/email service notification template (Microsoft Word)
A letter template that can be used to notify your local general practice that your pharmacy will be providing the service.

Briefing 011/26: Briefing for general practice teams: NHS Meningococcal B Vaccination Service – Community Pharmacy England
A briefing to assist pharmacy owners to provide information to general practice teams on the service.

Anaphylaxis action card – Personalise this card and keep it by the phone to guide staff on calling an ambulance if a patient has an anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine.

Patient consent

As with the provision of any pharmacy service, prior to vaccination, informed verbal consent must be sought from the patient (where appropriate), or the parent/guardian of each patient for the administration of the vaccine.

Informed consent should be recorded in the pharmacy’s clinical record, including the name of persons that have consented on the patient’s behalf and that person’s relationship to the patient.

The General Pharmaceutical Council’s Guidance on Consent provides further information on consent for pharmacists and their teams.

The patient (where appropriate)/parent/guardian of each patient should also be advised of the information sharing that will take place for the appropriate recording of the vaccination in the patient’s GP practice record and information that will be shared with NHS England and the NHSBSA as part of post-payment verification.

Vaccination of individuals with unknown or incomplete vaccination status

Vaccinations may have been provided to a proportion of young people either in response to local MenB outbreaks or as part of the gonorrhoea vaccination programme, or through private vaccination services. This may mean that some individuals present to clinics having already received at least one dose of MenB (Bexsero®) vaccination. International students may have received a dose or course of vaccination outside of the UK.

Proof of receipt of prior vaccination should be assessed based on:

Relevant entries in the GP record; or
Presentation of a MenB vaccination record card; or
Presentation of a written or virtual (for example, app) record of dose(s) delivered via a private provider.

A table in Annex A of the service specification sets out guidance regarding administration of vaccination to individuals with incomplete vaccination status, depending on the number of prior doses received, and of which specific vaccine product.

Service records, IT support and sharing of data

Pharmacy owners must use NHS England’s Record A Vaccination Service (RAVS) system for making their clinical records.

Pre-consultation screening questionnaire

This questionnaire has been developed for use with patients to collect some key information prior to the consultation, should pharmacy teams wish to use it.

Pre-consultation screening questionnaire (PDF)

Pre-consultation screening questionnaire (Microsoft Word)

General requirements related to record keeping

Pharmacy owners must maintain appropriate electronic records to ensure effective ongoing service delivery. Records must be managed in line with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care.
Pharmacy owners must ensure that the vaccination event is recorded on the same day that it is administered unless exceptional circumstances apply.
Pharmacy owners must ensure vaccination records are complete and include all the required fields about the patient.
Pharmacy owners must ensure that any staff recording the administration of the vaccination have received relevant training to be able to update records appropriately and accurately.
Where the Point of Care System is unavailable due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the pharmacy owner, then the record of vaccination events must be added to the it as soon as possible after the system becomes available again.
Where a record of a vaccination needs amending or has not been created on the point of care system, the pharmacy owner is responsible for undertaking the amendment or creation as soon as reasonably possible following notification from the patient or another healthcare professional that the record is not complete or correct.
There must be robust user and access management processes to ensure high levels of security in relation to staff access to the Point of Care System. That should include frequent updates to system access levels to add users who join the pharmacy team or remove accounts where staff leave or do not have shifts scheduled at the pharmacy.

Retention of records

Records must be managed in line with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care.
The necessary records required for reimbursement must be kept for a period of three years to demonstrate the service was delivered in accordance with the service specification, and to assist with PPV activities. These records must be provided by a pharmacy owners when requested by the NHSBSA Provider Assurance Team.
Pharmacy owners should ensure that clinical records for the service are retained for the appropriate period. This retention period may be beyond the specified period for PPV purposes and should be in line with both the requirements for the record type and the age of the person being vaccinated. You can find links to further guidance on this topic on our Data handling, record keeping and disposal webpage.

Sharing of data

Data recorded in RAVS regarding the patient’s vaccination will be shared with the patient’s registered general practice (where this is known) automatically on the day of provision or on the following working day. This will be sent as a structured message in real-time by the point of care system.
If the structured message system is not available or fails, the pharmacy owner must ensure a copy of the vaccination notification is sent or emailed (via NHSmail) to the patient’s registered general practice as soon as reasonably possible.
Given the speed with which implementation of the service is taking place, there is insufficient time to develop an application programming interface (API) to share vaccination records with the NHSBSA’s MYS platform to facilitate the normal payment arrangements.
The NHSBSA will collect manual payment claims from pharmacy owners via MYS.
Pharmacy owners must promptly comply with any reasonable request for information from NHS England (or an organisation acting on their behalf) relating to this service.
Personal data recorded in RAVS will flow to NHS England for managing and monitoring vaccination programmes; it will also be shared with the UKHSA under a Data Sharing Agreement.
Data that has been pseudonymised may be used by the NHS for evaluation and research purposes.

Storage of vaccines

Vaccines should be stored in line with the requirements set out by their manufacturer in the Summary of Product Characteristics.

In 2014, Public Health England issued guidance on the protocol for ordering, storing and handling vaccines for all healthcare providers involved in vaccinations, including community pharmacies.

Additional guidance, published by UKHSA, is also available in Chapter 3 of the Green Book ‘Storage, distribution and disposal of vaccines’.

All refrigerators in which vaccines are stored must have a maximum / minimum thermometer. Readings must be taken and recorded from the thermometer on all working days and appropriate action taken in a timely manner when readings are outside the recommended temperature range.

Information resources for patients

When pharmacy professionals are providing MenB vaccinations, there are several leaflets/websites which patients can be signposted to.

Patients should be given a copy of the manufacturer’s patient information leaflet about the vaccine or be directed to a web-based version of the leaflet. Hard copies will be available within the vaccine’s packaging, with copies also being available from medicines.org.uk/emc.
Patients must be advised of the importance of receiving the second dose of vaccine to ensure they are protected against MenB. Advising them on booking a second appointment, at least 28 days after the first appointment, and returning for a second dose is very important. Printed copies of the UKHSA MenB vaccinations record card (for patients) can be ordered free of charge to complete and hand to patients after their vaccination, to act as a reminder to book another appointment and return for a second dose of the vaccine.
The 4CMenB vaccine provides good individual protection against most, but not all, strains of MenB bacteria causing disease in the UK. The vaccine does not help to reduce spread to the wider population and as it cannot prevent all causes of meningitis or septicaemia. During the appointment for the first dose of the vaccine, the pharmacy team should advise the patient on the signs and symptoms of meningitis and sepsis.

The following UKHSA leaflet and poster will help you to advise patients – copies are available to download or you can order printed copies free of charge:

UKHSA leaflet: A guide to the Meningococcal B vaccines that help to protect against meningitis and septicaemia (HTML version)

UKHSA leaflet: A guide to the Meningococcal B vaccines that help to protect against meningitis and septicaemia (PDF version)

UKHSA leaflet: A guide to the Meningococcal B vaccines that help protect against meningitis and septicaemia (Order printed copies to use at your pharmacy via this webpage. The leaflet product code is 13347EN001)

UKHSA poster: Meningitis: signs and symptoms (PDF version)

UKHSA poster: Meningitis: signs and symptoms – order printed copies of the poster (product code is IM23DISP1)

Other information for patients

UKHSA blog on the MenB vaccination programme (aimed at the public)

NHS website: Meningitis webpage

NHS website: Sepsis webpage

Meningitis Now – response to announcement of the vaccination programme and FAQs for patients

Meningitis Research Foundation – response to announcement of the vaccination programme

MenB Vaccination Service – online information sources for patients
This resource lists the key patient-facing leaflets/website links, including the vaccine’s patient information leaflet. Hyperlinks to the leaflets/websites are listed, alongside QR codes for each leaflet/webpage so patients can scan these to access the leaflet/webpage on their mobile phones.

Safeguarding

During the consultation, if there are concerns about a potential safeguarding issue, then appropriate action should be taken, where necessary, in line with local safeguarding processes.

Guidance on safeguarding can be found in NHS England’s Safeguarding App/website.

Your Local Pharmaceutical Committee may also have details of local safeguarding contacts on their website.

Clinical waste

Pharmacy owners are required to make arrangements for the removal and safe disposal of any clinical waste and PPE related to the provision of this service. This includes where vaccinations are carried out off-site.

Pharmacy owners must also ensure that staff are appropriately trained and made aware of the risks associated with the handling and disposal of clinical waste and that correct procedures are used to minimise those risks. A needle stick injury procedure must be in place.

Communicating and working with GP practices

When pharmacy teams provide the service, notifying the patient’s GP practice of the administration of the vaccine is an important service requirement.

Data recorded via the Point of Care IT System regarding the patient’s vaccination will be shared with the patient’s registered general practice automatically on the day of provision or on the following working day. This will be sent as a structured message in real-time by the point of care system.

If the structured message system is not available or fails, the pharmacy owner must ensure a copy of the vaccination notification is sent or emailed (via NHSmail) to the patient’s registered general practice as soon as reasonably possible.

Where a patient presents with an adverse drug reaction following the initial vaccination and the pharmacist believes this is of clinical significance, such that the patient’s GP practice should be informed, this information should be shared with the GP practice as soon as possible.

Dealing with incidents arising from the provision of the service

If an incident occurs in relation to the service, pharmacy owners are required to report any patient safety incidents in line with the Clinical Governance Approved Particulars for pharmacies.

Where necessary, the pharmacy owner is also expected to follow UKHSA’s Vaccine incident guidance: responding to errors in vaccine storage, handling and administration.

Temporary cessation of the service

If the pharmacy temporarily ceases to provide the service, they must update their NHS website profile, NBS and Pharmacy Services Finder as soon as practically possible to reflect that the service is not available from the pharmacy.

Wherever possible, the pharmacy owner must also alert the Commissioner before the pharmacy temporarily ceases to provide the service to allow the Commissioner time to ascertain whether the temporary cessation of the service could be prevented.

Withdrawal from provision of the service

If the pharmacy owner wishes to stop providing the service, they must notify NHS England that they are no longer going to provide the service via a notification form, giving 30 days’ notice prior to the cessation of the service. They must continue to provide the service for the duration of the notice period. Pharmacy owners that de-register before the service commencement date are not required to give 30 days’ notice.

Pharmacy owners must ensure they update NBS, Pharmacy Services Finder and NHS Profile Manager when they cease provision of the service.

If a pharmacy owner de-registers from the service, they will be unable to re-register for the remainder of the service.

Promoting the service to patients

DHSC, NHS England and UKHSA are mounting a communications campaign to highlight the new pharmacy offer to the patients/ parents/guardians of eligible children. This includes the development of communications assets which can be used locally (see below) and NHS England will also be seeking supportive national and local press coverage of the service once it commences.

Eligible current Year 13 students will be contacted directly through the NHS app, text, email or letter depending on contact details held by the NHS. These messages will include details of how to book an appointment at a pharmacy via NBS.

Pharmacies can display leaflets and posters in the pharmacy to promote the vaccination programme:

UKHSA leaflet: A guide to the Meningococcal B vaccines that help protect against meningitis and septicaemia
You can download a PDF of the leaflet from this webpage and also order printed copies to use at your pharmacy. The leaflet product code is 13347EN001

UKHSA poster: Who is eligible to have their MenB vaccines?
You can download a PDF of the poster from this webpage and also order printed copies to use at your pharmacy. The leaflet product code is 13349EN001

The UKHSA have also provided the following images which are suitable for digital display screens in pharmacies:

‘Are you eligible for the MenB vaccine’: landscape: 1334CEN001; portrait: 1334DEN001

‘Who is eligible for the MenB vaccine’: landscape: 1334GEN001; portrait: 1334HEN001

‘Have your MenB vaccine here’: landscape: 1334FEN001; portrait: 1334EEN001

Community Pharmacy England resources

We have developed a range of materials including posters and social media assets which pharmacy owners can use to promote the service to patients.

Our shared folder (link below) allows you to download the latest versions of the following resources:

Posters (both ready to use and editable versions) for display within pharmacies and for more general use (e.g. in general practice waiting rooms);
Suggested social media posts about the MenB Vaccination Service; and
Small flyers about the MenB Vaccination Service.

Shared folder: MenB Vaccination Service promotional resources

We have also developed a checklist so pharmacy owners can work through the checklist to see if there are any additional activities that they or their teams could participate in to promote the service:

MenB Vaccination Service promotion to the public checklist

Funding

Pharmacy owners providing the service will receive:

£10.06 per vaccine administered.

To recognise the work involved in establishing the service and to encourage uptake, pharmacies will also be eligible for:

£300 once at least one vaccination has been administered; and
£400 if 100 or more vaccinations are administered by the end of March 2027 (i.e. up to £700 in total).

The funding for the service is from the NHS vaccination budget, not the CPCF contract sum.

The vaccine will be centrally supplied to pharmacy owners, so no claim for reimbursement of vaccine costs will apply.

Claiming payment

Claims for payments must be made via the NHSBSA’s MYS portal. This will be a manual claims process within MYS, i.e. entering the number of vaccines administered, as claims data will not flow from the RAVS clinical record system to MYS. RAVS does have an API in place with MYS for other vaccination services, but due to the rapid implementation of the MenB vaccination service, it is not possible for an API to be put in place.

Claims for payment should be submitted by the 5th of the month following the month the activity was provided, and no later than 3 months from the claim period for the chargeable activity provided (the usual grace period).

Claims which relate to work completed more than 3 months after the claim period in question, will not be paid and the pharmacy owner will not receive any payment for the administration of those vaccines.

Later claims will not be paid, unless the submission of a claim was delayed by IT issues outside the pharmacy owner’s control. Such claims will be accepted outside the usual grace period within 12 months of the date by which the claim should have been submitted. This is subject to the NHSBSA receiving evidence of the IT issue, and only if investigation finds that the evidence demonstrates that the IT issue was outside the control of the pharmacy owner, and it delayed the claim submission. Payments to pharmacy owners will be made monthly as part of their normal payment schedule.

Payment will only be made for vaccinations administered from the service commencement date onwards.

Payments for the service will not be included in the calculation of advance payments to pharmacy owners.

The payment for the service will appear on the pharmacy owner’s Schedule of Payment received from the NHSBSA under the ‘Details of other amounts authorised’ section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Visit our MenB Vaccination Service Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page

Provide feedback on national pharmacy services

At Community Pharmacy England, we are always keen to hear from pharmacy owners and their teams about how the provision of national pharmacy services is going, be that niggles with the way services are commissioned, a success story you want to share or something else.

Please click on the link below to share a success story where you have helped achieve a good outcome for a patient following a consultation for a national pharmacy service or to provide feedback on one of the services.