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Demand for private meningitis B vaccinations is “far exceeding” supply available for pharmacies to order from wholesalers, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said.
In a statement from the NPA on 18 March 2026, Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, said pharmacies are “being inundated” with requests from patients for meningitis B vaccination, which they “have no stock currently available to fulfil”.
However, the Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA), which represents pharmacy wholesalers, told The Pharmaceutical Journal on 18 March 2026 that it does not expect short-term availability issues “if government guidance continues to be followed”.
Picard’s comments come after an NPA snap survey of 300 pharmacies on 17 March 2026 revealed that the majority (87%, n=261) of respondents reported “considerable rises in requests from worried parents for meningitis vaccinations, far exceeding supply available from wholesalers which is being carefully managed”.
The increase in requests for meningitis vaccinations follows a meningitis outbreak in Kent, where two young people have died.
As of 17:00 on 17 March 2026, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported that the outbreak included 9 laboratory confirmed cases — 6 of which are group B meningococcal disease — while 11 notifications remain under investigation.
Picard said pharmacies are receiving “unprecedented levels of requests for meningitis vaccinations and many are unable to order in supplies from wholesalers”.
He added: “Most pharmacies provide MenB vaccinations as a small scale service, originally intended for patients who require it for travel or those who did not receive an NHS vaccine, and therefore do not carry significant amounts of excess stock.”
Picard said the NPA had heard “reports of abuse and intimidation aimed at pharmacy staff during this period from a small minority of patients, which is absolutely unacceptable”.
Pharmacy multiple Superdrug has told patients interested in the vaccine to join a waiting list, saying in a statement on its website: “There is currently a national shortage of the Meningitis B vaccine — we are working with suppliers to secure more doses.”
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said that pharmacies are “seeing demand [for the vaccine] rise rapidly” and called for a “nationally coordinated vaccination programme, delivered through community pharmacies” to tackle the outbreak.
“The majority of pharmacies have run out of stock and cannot order any in from the suppliers. This underlines why a localised response is not sufficient and risks creating a postcode lottery in access to protection,” she added.
The meningitis B vaccination is part of the NHS routine immunisation programme for infants but is not routinely given to teenagers or adults unless they are in an at-risk group.
However, speaking in the House of Commons on 17 March 2026, health secretary Wes Streeting asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to “issue fresh advice to the government” on vaccination eligibility.
He later told BBC News on 18 March 2026: “It’s not a surprise to me that people are seeing the headlines and thinking, well, I might just go out and buy myself a vaccination. But just to be clear, that is not necessary. … I can also understand why, therefore, in some pharmacies where people are buying privately, in numbers they wouldn’t normally, pharmacies have run out in one or two cases.
“But just to say, in terms of the supply of the vaccine for the children and young people that we vaccinate generally, and for the vaccination programme I’m standing up, we’ve got plenty of supply.”
To limit the spread of the disease, the UKHSA has confirmed that more than 2,500 doses of antibiotics have been given to students, close contacts of cases and others, including some of those who attended Club Chemistry between 5 and 7 March 2026.
As an additional precautionary measure, it also said that a targeted vaccination programme will begin, starting with up to 5,000 students that are residents of the Canterbury Campus Halls of Residence at the University of Kent.
Alexander Williams, chief executive of the HDA, told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “The HDA and its members continue to work with supply chain partners, including government, to ensure that appropriate levels of antibiotics and meningitis B vaccinations are supplied to where they are needed.
“Although demand has undoubtedly increased, with HDA members working through specific localised demand increases, they do not expect to experience short-term availability issues if government guidance continues to be followed.”
Vaccine manufacturer GSK has confirmed it is continuing to supply its Bexsero vaccine through established channels.
A spokesperson for GSK told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “We are ready to engage with any proposals from UK health authorities regarding the broader use of meningitis B vaccination to address the current outbreak in Kent.”
