18 year old from Colchester warns of the symptoms of Meningitis ahead of starting university
Around 1 in 8 students are unprotected against 4 types of deadly meningitis, according to new government research
Approximately 13% of new students missed their free MenACWY vaccine in school and remain unprotected against 4 deadly types of meningitis.
Ella Boardman, 18, from Colchester was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis when she was 16 and warns people the symptoms are not often typical.
She says,
"It progressed really quickly. Within a few hours I couldn't regulate my body temperature at all. I remember feeling freezing no matter what I did. My muscles felt so sore and achey and then I started vomiting.
"I then developed a migraine that was more painful than anything I'd ever experienced. My eyesight went blurry too. I went completely delirious.
Ella said because of her delirium, it took a long time to figure out what had actually happened to her.
"It became clear that my eyesight was affected. I had complete double vision and no depth perception at all.
"I had to wear an eyepatch at school. An opthomolegist said there was nothing to do but wait and hope that my vision comes back.
Ella began to recover slowly physically and mentally at school after 7 weeks. She had to drop GCSE subjects as she was left with chronic fatigue and consistent migraines. Her eyesight began to improve over the months.
Over two and a half years, Ella has managed to sit her A levels and is fully recovered.
She warns that meningitis can appear "similar to Freshers Flu" so it's important to "trust your instincts" as the symptoms are not always typical.
"I didn't have a stiff neck or sensitivity.
"It's really important that people are aware of how quickly it can progress and how severe it can be", she says.
Around 1 in 8 new students unprotected against meningitis, according to new government research.
Approximately 13% of new students missed their free MenACWY vaccine in school and remain unprotected against 4 deadly types of meningitis.
The NHS MenACWY immunisation programme for schools is offered to all pupils in year 9 and 10. UKHSA vaccine coverage data shows around 1 in 8 new students going to college and university this year remain unprotected against these 4 strains of meningococcal bacteria, each of which can cause long term disability, serious health complications and can be life threatening.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/meningococcal-acwy-immunisation-programme-vaccine-coverage-estimates/meningococcal-acwy-menacwy-vaccine-coverage-for-adolescents-in-england-academic-year-2021-to-2022
The latest 2021 to 2022 MenACWY coverage data shows 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
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and leading meningitis charities are urging students to make sure they have been vaccinated against meningitis and other diseases before the start of the academic year.