Meningitis is a grave disease that comes from a virus or bacteria that translates into the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain, and its effects are so serious it's classified as a medical emergency; in the United Kingdom in particular there's a particularly difficult strain that's set to be attacked through meningitis vaccines this year.
Millions of babies, teenagers and young adults are targeted for the implementation of the new meningitis vaccine in the UK, a move that's going to protect takers of four different strains of the disease: Meningococcal A, C, W and Y (MenACWY).
According to The Guardian, the meningitis vaccine has been around for a while, but the country's Department of Health only recently confirmed it'd be managing a major extension to its immunization program throughout the country, as it will begin next August in both England and Scotland.
Express reports that the first group to go through the meningitis vaccine will be teenagers, next August, as three million adolescents from ages 17 to 18 will be offered the MenACWY vaccine, as the Health Department focuses primarily on those teenagers about to leave home to go to college, as they're in the highest risk of infection.
According to BBC, another meningitis vaccine will be offered to babies: starting in September, babies two, four and twelve months old will receive the Men B vaccine, after a long delay in implementation due to costs.
In all, this is the country's first publicly funded program against the infection, which is considered the deadliest one in the world.
Not everyone is happy with the news, as the Belfast Telegraph reports there's at least one parent in Northern Ireland whose child died of meningitis that's currently advocating for dates in the area, as the province, along with Wales, is still unprotected by the new meningitis vaccine.
