The Secretary of State for Health has announced the intention to introduce a new vaccine, effective against Group C miningococcal infection, later this year. The objective is to achieve a major impact on Group C meningococcal disease, which is responsible for 40% of cases of meningococcal disease in this country and is one of the foremost causes of death in children and young people.
Last year in England & Wales there were 1530 cases of Group C disease and 150 deaths. The HiB vaccine dramatically reduced the prevelance of HiB meningitis following its introduction and it is hoped that this new vaccine will do the same.
The new vaccines have been extensively tested by the manufacturers and by the Public Health Laboratory and have been found to have excellent immunogenicity and safety profiles in all ages. Availability is likely to be a problem, however so the mass vaccination programme will be aimed at the highest risk groups first and will be phased as follows.