‘It all happened so fast’: UK students panicked by meningitis outbreak

Hundreds queued to get vaccinated, following two deaths and rising cases. Read more at straitstimes.com.

CANTERBURY, United Kingdom - Hundreds of masked-up students queued on March 18 to get vaccinated at the UK university campus at the heart of a deadly meningitis outbreak, as the number of cases rose to 20.

“It’s quite a concerning thing. It all happened so fast,” said Mr Jack Jordan, a 19-year-old student at the University of Kent in south-east England, where the first case was reported on March 13.

By the weekend, one university student and one schoolgirl had died of the infection, with several others seriously ill in hospital in the outbreak, linked to a local nightclub.

At least 200 students formed a long queue at the grassy campus near the medieval city of Canterbury, as the university rolled-out a targeted vaccination programme for meningitis B – a deadly bacterial strain.

Ms Holly Francis, 18, returned to get the jab after leaving and moving back home earlier in the week. “Just to be extra safe,” she told AFP.

“It kind of came out of nowhere,” Ms Francis said. “Everyone was very panicked and worried.”