Desperate parents calling pharmacies for meningitis jab as stocks run low

"Students living in halls of residence at the University of Kent, in Canterbury, are being offered the vaccine as health officials seek to curb the spread of what Wes Streeting, the health secretary, described as an unprecedented outbreak of the rare but sometimes deadly infection. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) sought to reassure the public that the outbreak which has been closely linked to those attending the Club Chemistry nightclub in Canterbury on 5, 6 and 7 March has not spread beyond Kent."

"Almost nine out of 10 (87%) pharmacies that responded to a snap poll reported a dramatic rise in requests from concerned parents to get a child or children vaccinated, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said. They were paying 200 or more per child for a vaccine that protects against meningitis B, the strain of meningococcal bacteria involved in the outbreak. For example, Boots is charging 220 for the two jabs needed."

"The seriousness of the outbreak, which experts are calling a super-spreader event, meant the UKHSA had been treating the Kent outbreak as a national rather than local incident from when it began at the end of last week, sources said. It emerged on Tuesday that one of the 15 people was a University of Kent student who travelled to London, fell ill there and sought help at a hospital in the capital on Sunday or Monday."

A meningitis B outbreak centered on Club Chemistry nightclub in Canterbury has resulted in 15 confirmed cases, including two deaths and 13 serious illnesses. Health officials have identified the outbreak as a super-spreader event and are conducting intensive contact tracing. Concerned parents are desperately seeking meningitis B vaccinations for their children, causing severe stock shortages at pharmacies. The vaccine costs £200 or more per child for the required two doses. Eighty-seven percent of surveyed pharmacies reported dramatic increases in vaccination requests. Health authorities have confirmed the outbreak remains contained to Kent with no evidence of wider spread, though one student traveled to London while ill. University of Kent students in halls of residence are being offered vaccines as part of containment efforts.

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