Cambridgeshire students urged to check vaccines ahead of university
Around 1 in 8 students are unprotected against illnesses such as meningitis
University students in Cambridgeshire are being urged to make sure they're up to date with their vaccinations before heading back to campus.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found 1 in 8 students are unprotected from diseases such as meningitis.
In the East of England region, almost 11% of young people are at risk from these potentially life-threatening and life-changing infections.
Now, the UKHSA and meningitis charities are urging students to make sure they have been vaccinated against meningitis and other illnesses before the start of the academic year.
Dr Stephen Hughes is a senior lecturer in medicine at Anglia Ruskin University:
“Firstly you’ll be mixing with people from all over the country and in many cases all over the world. These people have been exposed to different bugs to oneself.
“Somebody can be a carrier of something which doesn’t harm them but can hop across and harm you.”
The UKHSA found the vaccination rate for the MenACWY vaccine, which protects people against meningitis, fell to 79.6% according to data for between 2021 and 2022.
This is something that health officials believe will increase the rate of students who are unprotected against the illness to one in five when they start university or college.
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.
“Ensuring you are protected against these deadly bugs is vital.
“If you’ve missed out on your 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.”
These are the three vaccines that the UKHSA is urging students to check they’re up to date with before heading to university:
- MenACWY - protecting against four common strains causing meningitis and septicaemia
- MMR - protecting against measles, mumps and rubella
- HPV - protecting against human papilloma virus related cancers such as cervical cancer and other cancers of the head, neck and genital areas, and genital warts
Dr Hughes tells us why staying up to date with vaccines is important:
“It stimulates a small response and it remembers you’ve been exposed (to the disease) so the next time you’re faced with the same antigen, the body will react swiftly and effectively to get rid of it.
“It’s important all young people check they’ve got their meningitis vaccine up to date before going to university because that’s a critical timepoint at which people can catch this potentially fatal illness.
“Please make sure your vaccines are up to date and when you get to university, register with your student health service or local general practitioner.
"It’s important you have ready access not only to vaccinations but your general health needs.”