Key Summary
- Asda Pharmacy offers MenB vaccine at cost price to improve access amid outbreak fears.
- Demand surges across UK, with limited supply and government doses unlikely to meet need.
- Experts say antibiotics work fastest after exposure, while vaccine protection takes time.
In the wake of a meningitis outbreak in Kent and widespread panic across the UK, Asda Pharmacy has come forward to provide MenB vaccination for the public at cost price in all its 242 pharmacies until April 30.
This non-profit move will help people buy vaccine at £75 per dose, with a focus on the vulnerable communities, according to media reports.
People can get the dual dose for only £150, as against the usual price of £179.96.
Asda head of pharmacy and superintendent pharmacist, Faisal Tuddy said the decision was taken to help the people who could not access the NHS vaccines, and those who cannot afford it.
Tuddy assured that the offer is provided by constantly monitoring their stock levels to help the maximum number of people.
Young people across the UK are lining up for the meningitis B vaccine, sparking supply warnings from pharmacies and raising broader questions about the best public health response to the disease.
People who fear they have been in contact with someone affected in the outbreak in Kent can get the vaccine and preventative antibiotics from the UK Health Security Agency, through university buildings, clinics and family doctors.
But private demand for the vaccine from those worried about the disease in the wider population has also surged, pharmacies have reported.
The government had recently released 20,000 doses of the meningitis B vaccine from the NHS supply to ease shortages on the private market, but the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said this was unlikely to meet demand.
Adolescents in Britain - as in many other countries - are not routinely vaccinated against meningitis B, which is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.
Meningitis B is caused by one group of bacteria; other bacterial strains as well as viral infections can also cause meningitis. Symptoms include fever, drowsiness and vomiting, and it can become serious quickly.
Since 2015, the meningitis B shot has been given to babies, who are the highest-risk group for the disease, with a different vaccine against other strains given to teenagers.
"I can understand people suddenly wanting the vaccine," said Brendan Wren, professor and co-director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Vaccine Centre told Reuters.
However, he said antibiotics were the best option for those who feared they had been exposed.
Antibiotics start to work almost immediately, while immunity from the two-dose vaccine takes a month to build.
