NHS England has published MenB vaccine guidance on its Futures website for pharmacy owners preparing to deliver the Meningococcal B Vaccination Service. The guidance sets an initial allocation of 10 doses, or one box, per pharmacy and tells owners to place an order on FDP before stock is sent.
Pharmacy owners signed up to provide the service are being told to read the guidance as soon as possible. The service goes live on 20th July and will run for 12 days in July, so the first bookings will have to fit around the stock already allocated.
NBS bookings from Monday 13th July
NBS opens for bookings on Monday 13th July, and NHS England says owners should plan July appointments around the vaccine already due to be delivered and the number of days the service is open. The guidance says NHS England does not expect pharmacies to offer 100 appointments on NBS during the available days in July, even though 100 appointments a month is the minimum stated for the service.
That means pharmacies are being asked to match their first booking offer to the initial allocation and the short July operating window, rather than fill a standard monthly template. Owners who have already posted appointments on MYA for the first week of the service are being told to urgently review them before Monday 13th July.
FDP orders and walk-ins
Pharmacies will not receive vaccine automatically. Each one has a fixed order delivery day and a fixed order deadline each week, and increased allocations will only follow patient appointments booked through NBS ahead of those deadlines. Pharmacy owners must then place a fresh order on FDP to draw down the extra stock.
Walk-in appointments can only be covered from surplus stock, and there is no facility to order extra vaccine for walk-ins at the pharmacy site. In the first few weeks of the service, some un-booked appointments may need to be closed so a pharmacy does not take more bookings than the vaccine it has available.
MYA and 6th August
NHS England has also emailed pharmacy owners and staff registered to use MYA to manage NBS appointments about updates planned for 6th August. The email tells MYA users not to post appointments for the period from 1st September 2026 to 31st January 2027 until 7th August 2026.
For pharmacies, the practical message is immediate: check the guidance, place the FDP order, and trim July bookings to what the first 10 doses can support. The service starts with limited stock, and the booking plan has to follow that limit before later allocations can build.
