Dr Neil Hudson MP supports calls by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) encouraging all students heading to university or college this autumn to make sure they are up to date with all free routine NHS vaccinations via the NHS app and catch up with any they have missed, like the meningitis vaccine.
The three vaccines students should be up to date with before starting university or college include:
· MenACWY – protecting against 4 common strains causing meningitis and septicaemia.
· MMR – protecting against measles, mumps, and rubella.
· HPV – protecting against human papilloma virus (HPV) related cancers such as cervical cancer and other cancers of the head, neck and genital areas, and genital warts.
Statistics have demonstrated that around 1 in 8 new students heading to university this autumn are unprotected against 4 deadly types of meningitis - A, C, W and Y – which can cause long term disability, serious health complications and can even be life threatening.
If any students missed these vaccines at school, they should contact their GP surgery to arrange a catch up as soon as possible.
The advice comes as data show that around 1 in 8 new students heading to university this autumn are unprotected against 4 deadly types of meningitis - A, C, W and Y – which can cause long term disability, serious health complications and can even be life threatening.
The NHS MenACWY immunisation programme for schools is offered to all pupils in years 9 and 10. However, the latest 2021 to 2022 MenACWY vaccine coverage data show the vaccination rate has fallen to 79.6%, which means that the figure will rise to around 1 in 5 pupils being unprotected when they start college or university in a few years’ time if they don’t catch up with their vaccinations.
Dr Neil Hudson MP commented:
"For every young person, starting university or college is an important and exciting milestone, but it is important that students should be protected from infectious diseases. All first-year students starting college or university this September, and other students who have missed out on some or all childhood and adolescent vaccines face a raised risk of serious diseases such as meningitis, septicaemia and measles as they mix with large numbers of other students from around the country and overseas. I cannot urge strongly enough that all students make sure they are up to date with all free routine NHS vaccinations.”
Dr Shamez Ladhani, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, 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.
“Ensuring you are protected against these deadly bugs is vital. If you’ve missed out on your meningitis (MenACWY), HPV or MMR jabs then contacting your GP for the vaccine should be top of your list of urgent things to do before starting college or university.”
