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Health Board urges parents to check children's vaccination status following meningitis cases in the UK

Blue box with words press release

19 March 2026

Dr Ardiana Gjini, Executive Director of Public Health, is urging parents and carers to check their children’s vaccinations are up to date, following the recently declared meningitis outbreak in the UK.

“Vaccination is one of the most effective ways we can protect children and young people from serious illness.

Ensuring your child is fully vaccinated not only safeguards their health but also helps prevent the spread of infections within our communities.

I strongly encourage all parents and carers to check their child’s vaccination status and if you are concerned that your child has missed their routine vaccinations speak to your GP.”

Meningococcal disease is a serious, life-threatening infection that can lead to meningitis or septicaemia. While most people recover, a significant number are left with long-‑term physical, neurological or psychological complications. Sadly, around 1 in 10 cases can be fatal.

The disease can affect anyone, but babies, young children, teenagers and young adults are at the highest risk.

In Wales, vaccines that protect against several types of meningococcal bacteria, including types A, B C, W & Y, are offered as part of the routine NHS immunisation programme for infants (Meningococcal type B (opens in new tab)) and teenagers (Meningococcal types ACW&Y (opens in new tab)).

The Health Board’s most recent coverage report shows encouraging progress but also highlights areas where continued action is needed. Uptake of the MenACWY vaccine among young people reaching their 16th birthday is currently 76.4%, meaning many of our next school leavers remain unprotected.

For younger children, uptake of the MenB vaccine is at higher levels however not reaching the recommended 95%, with

  • 92.8% of infants vaccinated by their first birthday
  • 91.8% by their second birthday

These figures reflect the commitment of families and primary care teams, and we encourage parents to maintain this momentum by checking that all doses have been received on schedule.

We encourage families to:

If you would like to organise an interview with someone from the Public Health team at Hywel Dda University Health Board please contact the communications team on MediaOffice.Hyweldda@wales.nhs.uk or 07464 523370.