Henley MP calls for vaccine roll-out after meningitis death

Lewis Waters, who attended Henley College in Oxfordshire, was one of three students who caught meningitis in an outbreak in Reading.

It was confirmed on Thursday that the college student died from the disease, with a tribute from his father, Sean Waters, saying: “Words simply can’t describe the heartbreak and upset we’re going through.”

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Lewis Waters, a sixth-form pupil at The Henley College in Oxfordshire, died of meningitis earlier this week (Image: Facebook)

On Friday it emerged that the other two patients being treated for meningitis are pupils at separate schools in the area – Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre.

The UKHSA said close contacts have been offered antibiotics as a precaution.

A statement from Henley College said its “thoughts and sincere condolences are with the student’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time”.

The student who died went to Henley College in Oxfordshire (Alamy/PA)

“We are supporting those affected within our college community and are following the advice and guidance given by the UK Health Security Agency,” it added.

The menB vaccine has been offered routinely to babies as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme since 2015, but anyone born before then will not be protected.

Now, Freddie van Mierlo, Liberal Democrat MP for Henley and Thame, is calling on the Government to explore the possibility of a wider catch-up vaccination programme.

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He told the Press Association: “Naturally, there’s worry in the community given what happened in Kent very recently, but as of yet, all the advice from the medical authorities is that this is contained, and that we should continue as normal, and so people are continuing about as normal as they should.

“I think what we need to now look at, given what happened in Kent, and now here in Henley, is a wider catch-up vaccination programme.

“We have a cohort of young, young adults at university and at colleges like this who’ve never been vaccinated against meningitis B, who I think now need to be protected. That’s very clear.

“So, what I’m asking the Government to do is look at procuring a large number of vaccines and rolling that out as soon as possible.”

Dr Rachel Mearkle, consultant in health protection at the UKHSA, said: “We understand that many people will be affected by this sad news and would like to offer our condolences to the friends and family of this student.

Students queuing for antibiotics at the University of Kent in Canterbury (Gareth Fuller/PA)

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“Students and staff will naturally be feeling worried about the likelihood of further cases, however meningococcal meningitis requires very close contact to spread and large outbreaks, as we saw in Kent recently, are thankfully rare.”

The agency also confirmed that tests show the infection is not the same strain of meningitis B linked to a fatal outbreak in Kent in March.

The UKHSA said that information has been shared with the parents and students at all affected schools about the signs of meningitis.