What is the Meningitis B (Meningococcal serogroup B) vaccine?

From the Guidelines

The meningitis B vaccine is recommended for individuals at increased risk of meningococcal disease caused by serogroup B, particularly adolescents and young adults, as stated in the most recent guidelines from 2020 1.

Key Points

• The vaccine is typically administered as a series of doses, with the specific schedule depending on the vaccine product and the individual's risk level.
• For individuals at increased risk, the vaccine should be administered as a series of doses: MenB-FHbp (Trumenba) requires either two doses (0 and 6 months) or three doses (0,1-2, and 6 months), while MenB-4C (Bexsero) requires two doses given at least one month apart 1.
• College students living in dormitories, military recruits, people with certain immune deficiencies, and those exposed during outbreaks should prioritize vaccination.
• Common side effects include pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, and fever, which are generally mild and resolve within a few days.

Administration Schedule

• The administration schedule for MenB vaccines is as follows:
  • MenB-FHbp (Trumenba): 2 doses at 0 and 6 months, or 3 doses at 0,1-2, and 6 months depending on risk level.
  • MenB-4C (Bexsero): 2 doses given at least one month apart.

Recommendations

• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the use of MenB vaccines among certain groups of persons aged ≥10 years who are at increased risk for serogroup B meningococcal disease 1.
• The ACIP also recommends that adolescents and young adults aged 16–23 years may be vaccinated with MenB vaccines to provide short-term protection against most strains of serogroup B meningococcal disease.

Important Considerations

• The two MenB vaccines, MenB-FHbp (Trumenba) and MenB-4C (Bexsero), are not interchangeable, and the same vaccine product must be used for all doses in a series.
• The choice of dosing schedule depends on the patient's risk for exposure and susceptibility to serogroup B meningococcal disease.

From the Research

Meningitis B Vaccine Overview

• The Meningitis B vaccine is used to protect against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) 2.
• MenB is the most common disease-causing meningococcal serogroup in the United States and has caused several recent university-based IMD outbreaks 2.

Vaccine Development and Recommendations

• There are two MenB vaccines available: MenB-FHbp (Trumenba®) and Bexsero® (MenB-4C) 2, 3.
• The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that all individuals ≥10 years of age at increased risk for meningococcal disease receive MenB vaccination 2.
• Healthy individuals 16-23 years of age are recommended MenB vaccines based on individual clinical decision-making 2.
• MenB-FHbp is used on a 2-dose schedule (0,6 months) when vaccinating healthy individuals and on a tailored 3-dose schedule (0,1-2,6 months) in cases of increased risk 2.

Immunogenicity and Safety

• Recombinant vaccines against MenB have shown substantial impact in reducing MenB disease in targeted populations 3.
• A 2-dose schedule of 4CMenB generates hSBA titres ≥1:4 towards all four key vaccine target antigens in up to 98-100% of subjects 3.
• For MenB-FHbp, a ≥fourfold rise in hSBA titres against the four primary representative test strains was observed in 70-95% of recipients following a 3-dose schedule 3.

Global Public Health Concern

• Meningococcal disease remains a global public health concern despite major improvements in vaccine development 4.
• Ongoing efforts are being made to develop next-generation, pentavalent vaccines including a MenACWYX conjugate vaccine and a MenACWY conjugate vaccine combined with MenB, which are expected to contribute to the global control of meningitis 4.