Olivia Parkins, 18, was standing in line for a meningitis vaccine at the University of Kent on Thursday morning when she told the Press Association about her friends. Three confirmed cases among the university’s cheerleading society, she said, were in hospital.
“I know quite a lot of people who are in hospital with it, a lot of people from the cheerleading society which I’m part of,” said Parkins, a classical civilisations student. She lives in the block where the outbreak happened, one of two blocks whose residents had to come in for antibiotics. She was at home in Bromley when she heard the news and has stayed in touch with those affected. “So far they’re OK,” she said, and she praised the “good communication” around the outbreak.
Students and staff have been queuing for the meningococcal vaccine since two people died of the disease.
Cases keep rising
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that as of 5pm on Wednesday, 15 cases had been confirmed and 12 more were under investigation. That makes 27 confirmed or suspected cases, up from the 20 reported on Wednesday. Two students have died. Nine of the 15 confirmed cases are known to be caused by menB.
Students say they heard too late
Not everyone in the queue was satisfied. Paris Summer, 22, a psychology student from Twickenham, got her vaccine and then questioned how prepared the university had been. “I feel like, surely, they knew before someone actually ended up passing away,” she said. “I feel like we could have found out a lot sooner.”
Aarohi Gupta, 21, an economics student from High Wycombe, described the days since the news broke as “very scary, very worrying.” The university, she said, had told students little. “We found out when the rest of the public did.”
Tumi, 20, a computer science student who did not give her surname, decided not to travel home. Her reasoning was simple. If everyone leaves, she said, someone who is carrying the infection without knowing it could take it to their hometown. “I just don’t think it’s quite safe, so I’ve just decided to stay here.”
