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Call for more meningitis vaccines after teen dies
TL;DR
A charity is urging for increased meningitis vaccine availability following the death of a teenage boy in Oxfordshire from the disease. Two other students are currently receiving treatment for meningitis.
Key points
- A teenage boy in Oxfordshire died from meningitis.
- Two other pupils are being treated for meningitis.
- Meningitis B vaccinations are not available to teenagers on the NHS.
- A charity is calling for a wider rollout of meningitis vaccines.
- The JCVI is reviewing vaccination eligibility.
Mentioned in this story
Lewis WatersMeningitis NowOxfordshireReadingDepartment of Health and Social CareJoint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation
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.
Two months ago, two people died of MenB in Kent, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury, and in April, three young people contracted meningitis in Dorset.
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".
Q&A
What caused the death of the teenage boy in Oxfordshire?
The teenage boy died after contracting meningitis.
Which schools are affected by the meningitis cases?
The affected schools include The Henley College, Reading Blue Coat School, and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre.
What is the current status of Meningitis B vaccination for teenagers in the UK?
Currently, Meningitis B vaccinations are not available to teenagers and young adults on the NHS routine immunisation schedule.
Who is reviewing the eligibility for Meningitis B vaccinations?
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is reviewing the eligibility for routine Meningitis B vaccinations.
