A leading pharmacist is urging Brits to check whether they’ve been vaccinated for meningitis B - after an outbreak in Kent.
Students have been queuing at the immunisation centre at the University of Kent in Canterbury since the outbreak was reported last week. More clinics are set to open in the county today.
The outbreak - which has left 11 in hospital - has been linked to Canterbury nightclub Chemistry. Anyone who visited the club from March 5 to 7 is urged to seek precautionary antibiotic treatment.
Meningitis B affected 378 people in the most recent statistics from 2024-2025.
What is meningitis? The key symptoms to look out for
UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said: “This looks like a super-spreader event, with ongoing spread within the halls of residence in the universities.
“There will have been some parties particularly around this, so there will have been lots of social mixing.
“I can’t yet say where the initial infection came from, how it’s got into this cohort, and why it’s created such an explosive amount of infections.
“I can say that in my 35 years working in medicine, in healthcare and hospitals, this is the most cases I’ve seen in a single weekend with this type of infection.
“It’s the explosive nature that is unprecedented here – the number of cases in such a short space of time.
“NHS were initially managing it as a major incident in the region but they have now increased that overlay to having a national-level oversight as well.”
Now, Well Pharmacy’s deputy pharmacy superintendent Wendy Lee is appealing to all Brits to check their vaccination status and get vaccinated against the deadly disease.
She said: “We encourage young people aged 18 to 21 to make sure they are up to date with their meningitis vaccinations. Checking vaccination status and seeking advice from a GP or pharmacist to ensure they are fully protected.”
Anyone who wants to check if they’ve had a meningitis vaccine can do so without having to leave their home as all information can be found on the NHS app.
The app holds information about medicines which have been prescribed to you as well as vaccinations you’ve had in the past.
How to check your vaccination record on the NHS app
- Go to The NHS App
- Open the GP Health Record tab – read and click through the security warning
- Open the Immunisations tab
- Scroll down through your list of vaccines and related information
If you do not see a meningitis vaccination, that does not mean you have not already had one. There are a number of reasons why the NHS app may not have all your immunisations records, including:
- Old records – vaccinations from many years ago may not be recorded on the app
- Overseas jabs – vaccinations received abroad are not automatically added to the app
- GP record gap – if your doctor has not updated their records, there will be a gap in the app
- Access rights – you may need to ask your GP to enable your ‘detailed coded record’
Your GP or a pharmacist will be able to see your full NHS Summary Care Records (SCR), so if in doubt speak to one of them.
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