Protects against:
- Invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B — including meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain/spinal cord) and meningococcal septicemia (bloodstream infection)
- MenB vaccines provide no protection against serogroup A, C, W, or Y disease — a separate MenACWY vaccine is needed for those serogroups
Who should get it:
- Healthy adolescents and young adults aged 16–23 years, based on shared clinical decision-making, with the preferred age of 16–18 years
- People aged 10 years and older at increased risk of MenB disease, including:
- Persons with persistent complement component deficiencies
- Persons with anatomic or functional asplenia
- Microbiologists routinely exposed to isolates of Neisseria meningitidis
- Persons receiving complement-inhibitor treatment (e.g., eculizumab)
- People in a defined MenB outbreak setting
- First-year college students living in residential housing are often counseled about MenB alongside MenACWY, though MenB itself is based on shared decision-making rather than a universal recommendation
Schedule:
Two vaccine brands exist — Bexsero (GSK) and Trumenba (Pfizer) — and they are not interchangeable; the same product must be used for all doses in a series.
Routine 2-dose series (healthy adolescents/young adults, not at increased risk):
- 2 doses, at least 6 months apart
3-dose series (increased risk / outbreak situations, age ≥10):
- Given at 0, 1–2 months, and 6 months
Duration of protection / booster:
- People at prolonged increased risk for serogroups A, C, W, Y, and B need booster doses — the interval varies by age and vaccine type
- After a combination MenABCWY dose (Penbraya or Penmenvy), additional MenB-only doses should use the matching single-antigen product — Trumenba after Penbraya, Bexsero after Penmenvy
Why vaccinate:
- MenB disease can progress rapidly to severe illness or death within hours of first symptoms
- Survivors can have permanent disability — limb loss, hearing loss, neurological damage
- MenB has historically caused a substantial share of meningococcal outbreaks on college campuses
Important note:
- Bexsero and Trumenba are not interchangeable — verify product continuity before each dose, especially with adolescent patients who may return to different providers
- MenACWY and MenB vaccines can be given at the same visit or independently spaced — for full protection against all 5 serogroups, both are needed as separate vaccines (or via a combination MenABCWY product where age-appropriate)
- Vaccine must be stored between 2–8°C and never frozen — frozen or freeze-exposed doses should not be used
- Given the product non-interchangeability, your HMIS should capture brand name at first dose (Bexsero vs Trumenba) as a required field, not just “MenB” as a generic vaccine type — this is the single most common real-world dosing error with this vaccine.