Young people went through Covid at school - Rosie Duffield MP and I want to make sure they are protected from Meningitis B.
Read my joint article with Rosie Duffield MP in the Kent Messenger, published 27 April 2026:
Aaron woke up with a headache. As his mum chatted with him that morning, she never imagined it would be their last conversation. Within hours he was blue-lighted to their local hospital with suspected meningitis. He died a few days later. He was 18. His parents thought he was protected from meningitis because he had been vaccinated as a teenager - but this was ‘Men B’. It is a strain that is not covered by the NHS meningitis vaccination programme for teenagers (“MenACWY”).
Aaron died in January, in Worcestershire. In early March, Meningitis B hit us in Kent. Two young lives have been lost here; Juliette, who was a year 13 student at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and an unnamed student from the University of Kent. As we write four young people are still in ICU. The fatality statistics for meningitis B are horrific and for those who survive the consequences are often lifelong.
No wonder then that Faversham, Canterbury, Ashford and the community around are reeling from shock and anxiety. The outbreak has been described as ‘unprecedented’. On 26 March 2026 there were 20 confirmed cases (12 at the universities and 3 amongst local schools). Thankfully, we are told by UKHSA (the UK Health Security Agency) that the outbreak appears to have peaked and there have been no new linked cases in the last few days.
But it has been a terrible time. Tragic for the families who have lost their children. Awful for their friends, their classmates, teachers, tutors …the concentric circles of people around them.
We have been in frequent contact with the schools and universities affected in our constituencies. They have handled the outbreak amazingly well. It put them under huge pressure, on the one hand working with UKHSA and the NHS on the response and on the other supporting anxious students and parents.
The NHS has also stepped up to provide thousands of doses of antibiotics and vaccinations for those most at risk -188 Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust staff members were involved in the programme, including 130 registered clinicians from the immunisations and sexual health teams, supported by colleagues from logistics, pharmacy, estates, HR, communications and administration.
We were shocked to learn of the delays by QEQM hospital in alerting health officials of the first case of suspected meningitis. Obviously, when it is the first case the hospital may not be aware of its significance – but if we have learnt anything from the pandemic, it is to be prepared and assume that there is no time to waste. We have called on the Health Secretary to investigate this delay, not least because it begs questions like – might people have been treated more quickly if they had known to look out for meningitis? Could contacts have been traced and given prophylactic antibiotics earlier? And what needs to be done to make sure there is no delay in raising the alarm in future?
As schools and universities break up for the Easter holidays our thoughts have turned to preparing for the return of students in a few weeks’ time. We are pushing health officials to think ahead and particularly to make sure the Men B vaccination is widely available to young people who may be at risk. At the time of writing this article 11,000 eligible students have been vaccinated, but one lesson learnt from this outbreak is that year 13 students – and young people who are not in education at all – can also be at risk in a crowded nightclub. UKHSA know that they need to work out how the infection spread - but that will take time and may never be known for sure. In the meantime, we need to give young people the best protection possible.
On the subject of night clubs, it has been a tough time for Club Chemistry. Neither of us ever expected to hear the Prime Minister talking about our local nightclub in PMQs.
We started this article with the sad story of Aaron. We met his parents this week in Parliament because they are campaigning for the Men B vaccination to be far more widely available on the NHS. Greater awareness of meningitis is important too, but the fact is that the illness can hit so hard and so fast - what you really need is protection. We are saying to the Government, to the NHS and to the public health officials: look again. Seize this moment. Look out for this generation of young people. They went through Covid at school. Let’s protect them from Meningitis B.
