Two young people have died amid an outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease in southern England, with 11 other cases also confirmed.
The outbreak is linked to student populations in the city of Canterbury, Kent, according to a statement from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) sent to CNN on Monday.
One of the victims was a high school student at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham. “We are all absolutely devastated,” Headteacher Amelia McIlroy said in a statement sent to CNN on Monday.
There are 12 different serogroups of N. meningitidis and people are only vaccinated against the most prevalent ones. Even if you’re vaccinated you can still be infected by one of the less prevalent strains.
doncha just love biology
The article also states that since 2015, only infants have been given the vaccine and there were no boosters for young adults.