What You Need to Know about the Meningitis B Vaccine, Bexsero

The meningitis B vaccine has become a major topic lately. This is mostly due to the long waiting lists in pharmacies as a result of limited distribution.

The government has not yet introduced “Bexsero” into the vaccine calendar. Therefore, if a parent wants their children to be vaccinated, they have no other choice than to pay for the vaccine.

Truth be told, the vaccine for meningitis B is not easy to find. Distribution has been very poor. Some parents have waited up to several months to obtain the dosis. 

Recently, the number of vaccines and their distribution to pharmacies has grown in Spain. As a result, many more parents are thinking of getting their kids vaccinated.

In the following article, we will speak about the meningitis B “Bexsero” vaccine. We hope this information will help you make the decision of whether or not to vaccinate your child.

Is the meningitis B vaccine important for my child’s health?

This is a question that many parents ask themselves. The decision to vaccinate is up to a child’s parents, as this vaccine is optional.

Parents must make a decision regarding this vaccine based on the information they have available to them. In other words, it’s up to the parents and nobody else.

Even doctors are cautious not to tell parents whether or not to vaccinate. They simply provide information and let the parents decide.

It is very unlikely that your child will contract meningitis B, but it’s not impossible. It is a very serious disease, which means the decision that parents have to make is not an easy one.

Everything you need to know about the meningitis B vaccine

At what age can I vaccinate my child

This meningitis B vaccine can be applied when your child is 2 months old. This vaccine can also be given to older children who have not yet been vaccinated.

It’s best not to apply Bexsero along with other vaccines that are on the vaccine calendar. Therefore, many health centers wait until the age of 3 months to vaccinate against meningitis B.

Is this vaccine safe?

The AEMPS (Spanish Medication and Sanitary Product Association) did not allow the distribution of this vaccine until first determining its safety.

Some 8,000 children of different ages entered into these studies. In every study, the only symptoms that the children experienced after being vaccinated were pain and swelling around the injection site. 

In addition, some children were a bit more irritable than normal and displayed a slight fever.

Is meningitis B dangerous?

Meningitis B is very dangerous, especially in small children. Their immune system is still underdeveloped and cannot stop the infection. Some cases of small children have ended in death.

Is there treatment for this disease?

Yes, there is. There are antibiotics to treat meningitis B. But the possibility of a cure depends on the age of the child and how much time goes by before the infection is detected.

In cases of very small children, the infection can grow very rapidly and the antibiotic is ineffective.

Is the vaccine effective?

Yes. In the United Kingdom, the number of cases of meningitis B in children under the age of one has been reduced to half. 

Only 37 cases have been registered in the year since the vaccination program began, while in previous years more than 74 cases were registered each year.

How much does the vaccine cost?

There’s no denying that the price is quite high. You will have to shell out quite a bit of money, especially considering that the salaries in Spain are not at the same level as in other European countries.

The price per dosis is  106.15 Euros.

Now that you have the information, it is up to each parent to decide whether to vaccinate or not. It’s a decision that is completely up to a child’s mother and father, taking into account all of the information available.

Remember, it’s very unlikely that a child contract meningitis B. But if he does, the disease is very serious.