Kent meningitis outbreak: Mother makes plea to end ‘withholding’ of critical vaccines

A mother who lost her 18-year-old son to meningitis, has urged the government to stop delaying the release of “life-saving vaccines” following a deadly meningitis outbreak in Kent.

Marrissa Mullans from Great Manchester is fighting to make the Meningitis B (MenB) vaccine easier to get. Her campaign follows the tragic death of her son, Alfie, in June 2023.

The death of Alfie occurred due to the gap in protection provided by vaccines. Alfie has received vaccines for four other types of meningitis. However, because he was born before 2015, he was not eligible for the MenB vaccine under the standard NHS schedule at the time.

The NHS recommends the MenB vaccine only for babies, but many teenagers have not received it.

The Department of Health stated that their expert vaccine committee (the JCVI) does not currently recommend giving MenB booster shots to all young people.

In the recent meningitis outbreak in Kent, two young people have died and 11 others have been admitted in hospital in critical condition.

The UK Health Security Agency is still investigating the cause of the outbreak and working with locals to limit the spread of disease.

Ms. Mullans shared that for the whole time she had been living under a “false sense of security” assuming her son was fully immunized against meningitis after receiving the MenACWY vaccine typically given to teenagers.

But, the given vaccine was unable to provide protection against Meningitis B, pushing her son closer to death.

“Nobody appears to be aware. They, like I did, think that because they've had the vaccination that's given to schoolchildren they are then protected against all strains of meningitis - and that isn't the case,” Ms Mullans said.

As per NHS, the MenB vaccine is only given to babies aged 8-weeks, followed by a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at 12 months.

What is meningitis?

Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused either by viruses or by certain bacteria. Bacterial meningitis is rare but more fatal than viruses.

The infection mostly commonly affects babies, young children and teenagers. In the case of no treatment, the infection could prove deadly.

When the infection becomes acute, it is called “invasive meningitis”, leading to blood poisoning and brain damage.

In the UK, most cases of meningitis are caused by type B disease (MenB).

Symptoms of meningitis

• Fever
• Severe headache
• Vomiting
• Stiff neck
• Rash
• Dislike of bright eyes
• Drowsiness
• Seizures