GHA bolsters vaccinations for students after UK health warnings

A tenfold increase in the number of meningitis cases in the UK has prompted the Gibraltar Health Authority to offer additional vaccination opportunities for youngsters, in a bid to ensure all first-time university students are immunised.

Britain’s health officials this week warned of a strain of meningitis called Meningitis W and urged school leavers to ensure they are vaccinated as the illness mainly affects young people. A similar warning was issued about measles earlier this this month.

In a statement yesterday, the GHA said it already had a “robust” vaccination programme in place and believed the majority of young people in Gibraltar – “if not all” - had already been immunised against both Meningitis W and measles.

But against the backdrop of the warnings from Public Health England, the GHA has nonetheless rolled out additional opportunities to be immunised in case anyone has missed out.

“Meningitis W is a particularly aggressive form of meningitis that is more prone to affect young people, such as first-time university entrants,” a GHA statement said.

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