More meningitis vaccination centres are due to open across Kent today to help meet demand, after more than 100 students were turned away trying to get the jab amid the deadly outbreak.
The University of Kent closed the line for vaccines on its Canterbury campus “due to capacity” issues yesterday afternoon, despite a government push to reach more people.
The university’s clinic will reopen today from 9am until 5pm, with people advised to be in line by 2pm.
Other sites expected to be open include Faversham Health Centre and Vicarage Lane Clinic in Ashford.
The Gate Clinic at Kent and Canterbury Hospital will be open through the weekend for walk-ins.
So far, more than 8,500 antibiotics and 1,600 vaccines have been administered to eligible people in Kent.
Who is eligible?
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said anyone who attended Club Chemistry from March 5 until March 15 will be offered the jab, alongside sixth-formers at four schools and other university students in Canterbury, and close contacts of confirmed and suspected cases.
Anyone in England who is eligible for antibiotics can request a vaccination from their local GP.
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What’s the latest on cases?
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed 15 cases of meningitis, with another 12 under investigation.
Currently, nine of the 15 confirmed cases are known to be caused by menB.
Two students have died during the outbreak, including 18-year-old Juliette Kenny.
She died on Saturday, one day after first showing symptoms. Her father Michael Kenny said she’d been vomiting and had discolouration in her cheeks.
Mr Kenny said she had been “fit, healthy and strong” and the illness “took her from us so quickly”.
“The devastation of her loss to us, her family and friends is immeasurable,” he told PA news agency.
“Sharing stories of the empathy, warmth and fun that she created is helping her family and friends through at this time.
“Her energy continues to make the people who love her find a way.”
“The illness took her from us so quickly.”
Charity wants jab ‘routinely available’
Juliette was in Year 13 at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham. Her family, along with the Meningitis Research Foundation, are now calling for urgent action to improve access to the menB vaccine.
Vinny Smith, chief executive of the foundation, said its call in 2015 for the jab to be “routinely available” on the NHS for all at-risk age groups was “not taken forward” as it was “judged not to be cost-effective”.
The jab was introduced on the NHS for babies in 2015, meaning the majority of young people born before then are not protected against it unless they have had the jab privately.
Mr Smith called on the government to “decide now to save lives” and highlighted menB’s “lifelong impact”, including disabilities caused by the illness.
The health secretary has asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to review eligibility for the meningitis vaccine.
Health officials are expected to give an update on the outbreak at a media briefing in Kent later – you can follow updates in our dedicated live blog.
