Health Response

An online booking system is in place so that you can book a second dose of the MenB vaccination. Clinics and hubs have been set up in Canterbury, Faversham and Ashford, with slots available now for second dose vaccinations starting on Friday 17 April.

You can book your appointment slot now but please book for a date that is at least 28 days from your first vaccination.
Please read all the information on the booking site before booking your second dose of the MenB vaccination.

You can access the online booking system by using this link: https://bookings.kchft.patheks.uk/b/second-dose-meningitis

If you were eligible for a vaccine but had returned home outside of the UK when the initial offer was made, you are still able to get your first dose of the MenB vaccine until 8 May 2026.

Please book an appointment via the same online booking system, using the link above. You will be advised as to how to book your second dose nearer the time it is due.

It takes at least two weeks from your second dose of vaccine for your body to produce antibodies to give you a good level of protection.

To receive the MenB vaccine, please bring with you:

• Your university ID card
• The letter inviting to you get the vaccination

If you had your first dose of MenB vaccine at a private clinic or with your GP, we need to know which type of vaccine you had and when. Please bring either:
• A vaccination record card
• Your NHS App showing when your MenB vaccination was given
• A print-out or email from your GP practice, confirming what vaccination was given and when.

If you don’t have these, please come to your appointment anyway and speak to one of our clinicians.

It is common to get some swelling, redness or tenderness where you have the injection. You may also get a mild fever, nausea, headache or muscle aches but these symptoms should disappear after one or two days. More serious side effects are rare. You can take over the counter pain medication such as paracetamol to manage these symptoms if needed.

If you experience any suspected side effects to the vaccine, you can report these on
the Yellow Card website, by calling 0800 731 6789 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) or
by downloading the Yellow Card app

Please make every effort to attend your booked slot and arrive in plenty of time for it. However, if you miss your booked appointment, please make another one.  

MenB vaccination helps protect against most strains of Neisseria meningitidis group B (MenB) bacteria, which can cause meningitis (an infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) and septicaemia (blood poisoning).

You need two doses of the vaccine for protection. The second dose must be given at least four weeks after the first dose, but can be given later. The vaccine is given by injection usually in the upper arm.
You can find more information about the vaccine here: 

A guide to the Meningococcal B
vaccine that protects against meningitis and septicaemia - GOV.UK

As shared previously, the MenB vaccine is being offered to students and staff who have been offered preventative antibiotic treatment as part of last month’s meningitis outbreak, including:

• close contacts of those who are confirmed or suspected to have meningococcal
disease
• students at the University of Kent who are normally resident on the Canterbury
Campus, including those who may have now travelled home. Some staff living or
working in these Halls of Residence have also been offered preventative antibiotics
and are eligible for vaccination
• students who attend other universities in Canterbury, living in halls of residence or off-campus locations where there has been a case, and have been advised to take an antibiotic due to a close contact by UKHSA
• anyone who visited or was working at Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5 March and 15 March, when the venue closed voluntarily. 

There have been no further cases linked to the in the Kent outbreak for more than three
weeks.

The MenB vaccine is being made available to help protect students from becoming seriously unwell with meningitis if you are exposed in the future.

Further information about meningitis and details of who is eligible for the MenB vaccination as part of the outbreak response last month, is available from the Kent and Medway
Meningitis Outbreak Information Hub.

If you don’t have your University of Kent ID, you can log in to Kent Vision to download and print your council tax exemption letter or your module transcripts. Just take one of these along with another form of ID, such as your passport or driving licence.

No. Vaccination is not compulsory in England. 

However, the UKHSA strongly recommends this as the best way to protect yourself against MenB during this outbreak. 

Yes. The MenACWY vaccine does not protect against MenB, which is the strain involved in this outbreak.

• UKHSA Helpline | 0344 225 3861, Mon - Fri 09:00-17:00
  
• NHS
• Meningitis Research Foundation | 0808 800 3344
• Meningitis Now | 0808 80 10 388