As A-level results day approaches health leaders in Hull are urging teenagers to have their Men ACYW vaccine to help protect from life threatening meningitis and septicaemia.
Those who are aged 17 to 18 (born between 1 September 1998 and 31 August 1999) are now eligible.
New entrants to higher education (university freshers) are also eligible. Anyone who has missed vaccination in previous years remains eligible up to their 25th birthday and is encouraged to have the MenACWY vaccine.
Sarah Smyth, Director of Quality and Clinical Governance/Executive Nurse with NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), commented:
“The MenACWy vaccine is one of the best ways we have to protect people from meningitis and septicaemia. Public Health England has reported a rise in cases across England, so it’s important for young people to make sure they protect themselves, particularly before they start at university.”
The MenACWY jab protects against four strains of meningococcal disease which cause meningitis and septicaemia, known as strains A, C, W and Y.
MenW is one of the most life threatening forms and meningococcal disease and can be fatal. Even after treatment many survivors are left with life changing disabilities, including brain damage and loss of limbs.
The MenACWY vaccine remains the best form of protection against the A, C, W, and Y strains with a 100% effectiveness rate in those that have been vaccinated so far.
