Meningococcal C (MenC) vaccine schedule in infant to be changed by July 2016 - PHE

The Public Health England (PHE) will implement the recommendation by The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which is that infants no longer require vaccination against meningococcal serogroup C (MenC). Therefore, from 1 July 2016, infants should no longer receive the dose of MenC conjugate vaccine currently given at the second primary immunisation visit at around 12 weeks of age. The Hib/MenC vaccine (Menitorix) dose given at 12 months of age and the MenACWY conjugate vaccine dose given at around 14 years of age are unaffected by this change and should still be given.

The JCVI also said that, because of the successful MenC programme introduced in 1999, there are now very few cases of invasive MenC disease. Vaccination of adolescents with MenC conjugate vaccine which began in the 2013/14 academic year, and later, MenACWY conjugate vaccine should sustain good herd protection and therefore the risk to infants will remain low. The dose of combined Hib/MenC offered at 12 months of age will provide good protection to toddlers and younger children. In addition, the introduction of Bexsero® (i.e. MenB vaccine) in to the infant programme may provide a degree of protection against some cases of invasive MenC disease.

The revised routine schedule for MenC-containing vaccinations from 1 July 2016.

Age	Dose and Vaccine
12 – 13 months old	One dose of Hib/MenC Vaccine
Around 14 years old (ideally at the same time as Td/IPV)	One dose of MenACWY Conjugate vaccine

The routine MenC booster dose that was offered to pupils in school year 9/10 was replaced with the MenACWY conjugate vaccine from September 2015, to offer additional protection against meningococcal capsular group A, W and Y in response to a national outbreak of invasive MenW disease. As part of a time limited catch-up campaign, those aged up to 25 years entering university as undergraduates for the first time, should be offered a MenC-containing vaccine. A comprehensive MenACWY catch-up programme was introduced last Autumn through general practice and schools to vaccinate all adolescents aged 14-18 years in response to an increase in meningococcal W (MenW) disease.