A few teething issues but off to a great start with MenB service

On the first day of the Meningitis-B vaccination programme  over 1400 young people were vaccinated in East of England – an outstanding amount.  However, with any new programme it has come with a few teething issues

Please can you be aware of the following:

Bookings through National Booking service is only currently available to the “age group” eligible cohort

• Please remember that only the cohort eligible by age (17 to 18 years old and born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008) can book an appointment through the National Booking Service.
• Individuals who are born on or after 21 July 2001 and starting university or starting at some further education colleges as a residential student for the first time this autumn can only access the service via the “find a pharmacy” walk in route at the current time. They are still eligible for the programme and can and should be vaccinated by pharmacies.

Second appointments on the National Booking Service cannot (currently) be booked on the same day as the first appointment

• The National Booking Service is currently unable to accept a booking for a second appointment until the day after the first appointment has been completed.
• The data team are looking at solutions to try to allow this functionality, however we do not have a timescale for this.
• We would encourage all pharmacies to discuss the importance of the second dose and advise individuals who are able to use the National Booking Service (i.e. those born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008) that they can go online from the morning after their first appointment to book their second vaccination, with a minimum 28 day gap between the two appointments.

Pharmacies need to offer walk in availability for the “university/residential further education” eligible cohort

• As per the Service Specification, 4.18. “The pharmacy contractor must offer vaccination through advertised walk-in clinics via the Pharmacy Services Finder.” This cohort cannot currently use the National Booking Service, so need to be able to arrange an appointment locally or be seen as a walk in.
• Please ensure that your NHS Profile Manager is up to date and manage your vaccine supply to allow for walk-in activity or locally booked appointments for this cohort.  A number of pharmacies have contacted the Office to say this option is not available, therefore we have raised it and hopefully this will be resolved soon.
• It is acceptable for pharmacies to locally arrange an appointment at a later date for individuals who present as a “walk-in patient” if you only have sufficient vaccine to cover your booked appointments – or the individual may prefer to try other local pharmacies who may have supply there and then.

Vaccine supply ETAs

• You will be aware that the Order Tracking dashboard is updated on the morning of your delivery day with an expected delivery window. However, please be aware that the window is an estimate, and logistical challenges may mean that your delivery could be outside this window
• As we cannot guarantee the time of your delivery in advance, and to avoid having to cancel bookings, we would strongly recommend that pharmacies do not offer or book any appointments on the day of delivery, unless you still have vaccine remaining from a previous delivery to accommodate these appointments.

Regional Vaccination Operation Centre (RVOC)

NHS England – East of England

Please visit our MenB page for links and details for the service