Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Wednesday 30 September 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Recent stories
The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.
What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
NHS England is conducting its largest ever catch-up vaccination programme for Meningitis B, targeting students starting university this autumn. The health service reports that nearly 90,000 young people in England have received their first dose, with another 135,000 appointments booked. Around one million teenagers and first-time university students are eligible before the autumn term. The programme follows a March outbreak in the Canterbury area, where 15 confirmed cases led to an emergency vaccination drive at the University of Kent. That outbreak resulted in deaths of young people, and students queued for hours for jabs. Meningococcal B spreads through close contact and can cause meningitis and life-threatening blood poisoning. Two doses of the vaccine are needed for best protection, administered at least four weeks apart. Health officials hope the national rollout will achieve high uptake and prevent a repeat of the outbreak.
Key Claims by Channel
| Claim |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels | ||||
| Nearly 90,000 young people in England have had their first jab, with 135,000 appointments booked. | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | ||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | ||||
| The campaign follows the largest and fastest growing outbreak of meningitis B in Kent earlier this year, with 21 cases and two deaths. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Two doses of the vaccine are required, at least 28 days apart. | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| NHS England launched its largest ever Meningitis B vaccination catch-up programme for university students. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Around one million teenagers and first-year university students are eligible for the vaccine before the autumn term. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The programme follows a March outbreak in Canterbury where 15 confirmed cases led to an emergency vaccination programme at the University of Kent. | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Students queued for hours for vaccinations during the Canterbury outbreak. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Meningococcal B spreads through close contact and can cause meningitis and life-threatening blood poisoning. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Health officials hope for high uptake of the vaccine to prevent a repeat of the deadly outbreak. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | ||||
| Eligible groups are those in the last year of secondary school and those aged 18 to 25 heading to university for the first time. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Pharmacists cancelled meningitis B vaccine appointments due to stock shortages. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| NHS stated it has supplies and is working to speed up deliveries. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Around 8,000 pharmacies are involved, meaning eight in ten pharmacies are delivering the service. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| The vaccine is free for eligible people on the NHS; private jabs are available for others. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 30 September 2026 | — | — | 3m 41s 3.8% | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tuesday 22 September 2026 | — | — | 5m 21s 5.3% | — | — | — | 2m 31s 3.0% | — |
| Monday 3 August 2026 | — | 2m 11s 2.3% | 2m 4s 2.1% | — | — | — | — | 5m 19s 8.3% |
| Monday 20 July 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1m 57s 2.9% | — |
| Thursday 16 July 2026 | — | — | 3m 11s 3.2% | — | — | — | — | — |
| Monday 13 July 2026 | — | — | 2m 48s 3.0% | — | — | — | — | — |