In a move described as “lifesaving”, parents will be able to get jabs for babies at the ages of two and four months, with a booster at one year, the Department of Health and Scottish Government said.
They said the programme, available from GPs, meant England and Scotland were the first in the world to begin “national and publicly-funded meningitis B immunisation”.
Teenagers aged 17 and 18 in the final year of sixth-form and other students aged 19 to 25 who are starting university this year will also be able to receive a vaccination against the A, C, W and Y strains of the infection from August, the DoH said, adding this is “particularly important” for those heading to university.
Around 1,200 people, mainly babies and children, get meningitis caused by the meningococcal group B bacteria each year in the UK, with around one in 10 dying from the infection.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to roll out vaccinations in March, after the government reached a deal with drug maker GlaxoSmithKline. This decision followed controversy over the Bexsero MenB vaccine after it emerged it was still not available to children despite being recommended by health advisers a year previously.
Sue Davie, chief executive of the Meningitis Now charity, said: “We’re delighted that yet another milestone in the journey to introduce these vaccines and protect our newborn babies and young people from the devastation meningitis causes has been reached – these measures will start to save lives straight away and for years to come.”