Young people in West Midlands urged to get potentially lifesaving meningitis vaccination

Figures show uptake of the MenACWY vaccine, which protects against life-threatening meningitis, has been "worryingly low" in parts of the region.

Around 1 in 5 students in Birmingham, Walsall and Sandwell, missed their routine vaccine in secondary school, leaving local teenagers unprotected before arriving at university this academic year.

Now, young people across the region including in the Black Country, Staffordshire and Shropshire, have been urged to contact their GP and get their vaccine before they attend university for potentially lifesaving protection.

Caryn Cox, Consultant in Health Protection leading on vaccine preventable diseases for UKHSA West Midlands, said: “Meningococcal bacteria can cause meningitis – a dangerous inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal column – and septicaemia (blood poisoning), which can both trigger sepsis.

"Meningococcal disease needs urgent treatment and can be life-threatening.

"That’s why such low uptake of the free MenACWY vaccine in parts of the West Midlands is so worrying – because it really can be a matter of life and death.

“First year or returning students are at increased risk of meningitis, mixing with large numbers of other students from around the country and overseas.

"Low immunity levels and a lack of exposure to infections since the pandemic has left young people even more vulnerable to meningococcal disease, so it’s especially important that students get their MenACWY vaccine if they missed it at school.”

Samantha Field, a university student from Birmingham, was admitted to hospital for meningitis in April of this year.

She said: “It started simple with vomiting. I thought nothing of it. Must be a sickness bug. Then I started to become weak and had persistent painful headaches.

"I tried to get stronger and decided to go on my holiday in Brighton. I went to A&E in Brighton to be told it’s a sinus infection.

“The headaches stopped my sleep, I couldn’t regulate my temperature, I became so weak - I struggled to walk. I lost appetite and on my last day of holiday was sick after breakfast.

"I also had a horrible sensation that I was falling like a drop rollercoaster, but I wasn’t, I was sat on my bed. It was all in my mind.

"At this point I had every meningitis symptom except the rash. But I didn’t know what meningitis was in detail other than it caused a rash.

“I deteriorated fast, I had unbearable headaches, I was vomiting, couldn’t walk and my eyesight would go and return.

"At this point my family knew it wasn’t a sinus infection. I was rushed to A&E by my mum and admitted for suspected meningitis.

"All of this is just the beginning of my story with meningitis. Each day was a battle, there wasn’t a day I didn’t cry to my mum or dad and say ‘I can’t do this anymore’ but I did.

“All of this could have been avoided so easily if I had just had a meningitis vaccine, but I didn’t.

"But what I can do is stop other people from making the same mistake. If my story can encourage people to get vaccinated or learn the signs of meningitis, then my experience is worth it."

The MenACWY protects against four strains of meningococcal disease, but not all forms, like MenB so it is vital that young people know about signs and symptoms of this serious disease, and what to do if they are worried about their own or someone else’s health.

You can get a MenACWY vaccine through your local GP. Parents are reminded to contact their child's local GP if they require a vaccine.

To find out more, visit nhs.uk/conditions/meningitis/.