Queensland has joined South Australia in making the meningococcal B vaccine free for vulnerable children, with advocates calling for other states to follow their lead.

They say states and territories should not wait for the national program to expand access to free jabs because it could put children's health at risk.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said Queensland would offer the free vaccinations to newborns and children under two and adolescents aged 15 to 19 from 2024.

The rollout will cost more than $90 million over three years and the vaccinations will be part of the routine childhood and school immunisation programs.

It will be available through GPs, community vaccination clinics, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services.

For year 10 students, the meningococcal B vaccine will form part of Queensland's School Immunisation Program.

"We know the meningococcal B strain can be lethal and - if a young person is lucky enough to survive the disease - it's likely they will develop permanent and sometimes devastating complications," Ms Fentiman said on Friday.

Almost half a million infants, children and adolescents would be eligible to receive the vaccine from the first quarter of 2024, she said.

Meningococcal disease is a rare bacterial infection that can develop rapidly, and the B strain causes the majority of cases.

The illness is potentially deadly and can cause serious, long-term complications such as brain damage, deafness and loss of limbs.

The disease can occur at any age but children under two and adolescents between 15 and 19 are most at risk.

More than 60 cases of the disease have been recorded nationally this year, with 20 of them in Queensland, compared with 10 in the state during the same period last year.

The vaccine can cost up to $180 not including boosters.

Queensland's decision follows SA's move to make the vaccine free for babies and year 10 students.

The national program makes the meningococcal B vaccine free only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and immunocompromised people.

This is despite a recommendation in 2014 by the federal advisory body ATAGI that it also be made free to all young children and teens.

A vaccine for other meningococcal strains is free under the national program for children aged 12 months, 14 to 16-year-olds and immunocompromised people.

Meningitis Centre Australia CEO Karen Quick urged other jurisdictions to follow Queensland and SA and make the vaccine free, "especially now with meningococcal cases very much on the rise".

She said other states should not wait for the vaccine's access to be expanded under the National Immunisation Program.

"Our system for making vaccines available under the NIP is slow and undervalues the benefits of prevention," Ms Quick said.

"We don't have to wait for a federal response - our state governments can make this decision right here, right now like Queensland and South Australia did."

The Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ) said it had been calling for the National Immunisation Program to expand free access to the jab since 2017.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has been contacted for comment.