Myth: The meningococcal B vaccine is not safe.
Truth: This is false.
The meningococcal B vaccine is given to protect individuals from the life-threatening disease meningitis. The new meningitis vaccine received its license in 2013 in Europe. The vaccine went through several clinical trials to ensure safety and efficacy. There were more side effects than expected, such as fever and skin reactions. A recent study in the United Kingdom assessed the safety of the vaccine further. They published their results in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Researchers administered about 1.29 million doses, which is equivalent to about 3 million doses of the vaccine over 20 months. Participants were children 18 months or younger. Overall, the vaccine was beneficial with little to no safety concerns. To read more about this study click here.
Reference
- Bryan P, Seabroke S, Wong J, et al. Safety of multicomponent meningococcal group B vaccine (4CMenB) in routine infant immunisation in the UK: A prospective surveillance study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2018;2(6):395-403. doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30103-2
