Students who missed out on the meningitis vaccine in school are being urged to contact their GP before the start of the academic year.
Around one in eight new students going to college or university this year are unprotected against the four ‘deadly’ strains of meningococcal bacteria, according to the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA).
Currently, all school pupils in year nine and year 10 are offered the MenACWY vaccine as part of the schools immunisation programme, however it remains available from GPs to all those aged under 25.
If incoming college and university students missed out on this, the Government is encouraging them to contact their GP as an ‘urgent’ priority before they begin their course.
Students are also advised to check with their GP that they are up to date with other free routine NHS vaccines, including for MMR and HPV.
When mixing with a large cohort of new people, students are at increased risk of diseases such as meningitis, which can cause long-term disability, serious health complications and can be life threatening.
The UKHSA also urged students to be aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis, as the vaccine does not protect against all strains, such as MenB.
The agency’s latest vaccine data for 2021 to 2022 showed that MenACWY coverage for year 10 students was 79.6%, a 1.2 percentage point drop since the previous academic year.
This means that when these pupils start college or university in future years, the figure will rise to around one in five pupils being unprotected if they do not catch up with their vaccinations at their GP, according to the Government.
Consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA Dr Shamez Ladhani said for those who have missed the MenACWY, HPV or MMR vaccines ‘contacting your GP for the vaccine should be top of your list of urgent things to do before starting college or university’.
He said: ‘Every year we see new and returning students get seriously ill, with some tragically dying, from what are preventable diseases.
‘With large numbers of students coming together from around the country and overseas for the first time, and closely mixing, infection can spread easily.’
Last month, the UKHSA warned that unless MMR vaccination rates improve, London could see a measles outbreak ‘with tens of thousands of cases’.
The Government has also recently confirmed that the flu vaccination programme will expand this autumn to offer all secondary school pupils in England a free vaccine.
A study last year suggested that a vaccine used for MenB – which the current MenACWY vaccine does not protect against – could be a cost-effective way to treat gonorrhoea.
Because of the chaotic way these vaccines are given we in GP do not know if or when they have been administered.
Why do we need to vaccinate them anyway? Would it not be better if every student caught Meningitis so that they develop natural immunity to it, like with Covid?? As a by-product, it might reduce the number of students slightly too, and save some of the fees as a result, no?