[9] The World Health Organization recommends that countries with a moderate or high rate of disease or with frequent outbreaks should routinely vaccinate.

[9] In the African meningitis belt efforts to immunize all people between the ages of one and thirty with the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine are ongoing.

[13] In Canada and the United States the vaccines are effective against four types of meningococcus (A, C, W, and Y) are recommended routinely for teenagers and others who are at high risk.

[26] In November 2024, the European Commission (EC) approved Menveo to protect individuals aged two years and older against invasive meningococcal disease.

[27] Menquadfi, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2020, for use in individuals two years of age and older.

[29] In April 2012 Nimenrix was approved as the first quadrivalent vaccine against invasive meningococcal disease to be administered as a single dose in those over the age of one year, by the European Medicines Agency.

[34][35] Attempting to overcome this problem by repeated immunization results in a diminished, not increased, antibody response, so boosters are not recommended with this vaccine.

[38][39] For this reason, Menomune is suitable for travellers requiring short-term protection, but not for national public health prevention programs.

The vaccine, Menhibrix, prevents disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups C and Y and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

[medical citation needed] A vaccine for serogroup B was developed in Cuba in response to a large outbreak of meningitis B during the 1980s.

The VA-MENGOC-BC vaccine proved safe and effective in randomized double-blind studies,[49][50][51] but it was granted a licence only for research purposes in the United States[52] as political differences limited cooperation between the two countries.

[59] In November 2013, in response to an outbreak of B-serotype meningitis on the campus of Princeton University, the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meningitis and vaccine-preventable diseases branch told NBC News that they had authorized emergency importation of Bexsero to stop the outbreak.

[61][62] In October 2014, Trumenba, a serogroup B vaccine produced by Pfizer, was approved by the FDA for use in individuals 10 through 25 years of age.

[64] In 2016 Health Canada warned of an increased risk of anemia or hemolysis in people treated with eculizumab (Soliris).

[65] Despite initial concerns about Guillain-Barré syndrome, subsequent studies in 2012 have shown no increased risk of GBS after meningococcal conjugate vaccination.

[67]: 21–24  Countries with required meningococcal vaccination for travellers include The Gambia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Libya, the Philippines and, most importantly and extensively, Saudi Arabia for Muslims visiting or working in Mecca during the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages.