Call for more meningitis vaccines after teen dies

A charity has called for a wider rollout of meningitis vaccines after a teenage boy in Oxfordshire died after contracting the disease.

Lewis Waters, a sixth-form pupil at The Henley College, died earlier this week. Two pupils, one from Reading Blue Coat School and another from Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre in Reading, are also being treated for meningitis.

“Young lives are really precious and we should do everything we can to protect them,” said Dr Tom Nutt, chief executive of Meningitis Now.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is reviewing eligibility for routine Meningitis B (MenB) vaccination.

Vaccinations for MenB are currently not available to teenagers and young adults on the NHS routine immunisation schedule.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said one case had been confirmed as MenB and it was awaiting further tests on the other two.

Nutt said: “The argument against the introduction of the Men B vaccination for teenagers and young adults is actually around cost effectiveness.

“The lives of teenagers and young adults are too precious and it is tragic to see yet another death.”

The charity chief executive said there was “about 75% less disease in the under-ones than there was before the vaccine was introduced”, adding: “So we know this is a safe vaccine, we know it’s an effective vaccine, the trouble is it’s an expensive vaccine.”

He has called for the government to consider the wider benefits to families, society and the economy that could come from rolling the Men B vaccination out further.

“Health is an asset that we really must protect,” he said.

The UKHSA said on Thursday that it had identified a social network that connected Lewis and the other two young people.

Close contacts linked to all three are being offered antibiotics as a precaution.

The health agency said the risk to the wider public was low.

Referring to the most recent cases, Nutt said the UKHSA had reacted “quickly” to administer antibiotics to those people affected, adding that he felt “reassured that the right steps had been taken”.

However, he urged the public to “remain alert” that the relatively rare disease “can strike anyone at anytime”.

There are about 300 to 400 cases of meningococcal disease diagnosed in England every year.

It is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.

Meningitis symptoms can develop suddenly and can include:

The UKHSA said young people should check they were up to date with vaccinations, including the MenACWY vaccine offered to pupils in Years 9 and 10.

It remains free on the NHS for people until the age of 25 but does not protect against all strains of meningitis.

The UKHSA said other strains, like MenB, can circulate among young people.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “We asked the JCVI for an updated recommendation based on the latest evidence on Meningococcal B, including following the outbreak in Canterbury.

“The JCVI is carrying out a review of eligibility for routine MenB vaccination and will provide a further update and advice to the department in due course.

“The UK has a world-leading national immunisation programme, which is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the changing nature of infectious diseases and provide the best protection and outcomes for the public.”

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