The mum of a young man who died from meningitis is calling for a vaccine to be made available to all after a recent outbreak saw two more young people die.
Sue Gray’s son, Matthew Fox, was aged just 21 when he contracted the disease in April, 2023, and she said it was “vital” for the jab to be easily accessible.
Matthew Fox, 21, from the Isle of Sheppey, died in April 2023 after contracting meningitis. Picture: Sue Gray
At the time of writing, the total number of cases linked to last month’s outbreak in Canterbury was 21.
All of the confirmed cases were meningococcal group B (MenB) and have required hospital treatment – including a sixth-former who was in an induced coma.
The Sheppey mum, who has recently taken over The Admiral’s Arm micropub in Queenborough, said she did not want anyone else to lose their life to “something which can be prevented”.
Mrs Gray, whose younger son, Zak, also contracted meningitis last year but survived, wants people to be more aware of the important signs.
The 50-year-old explained: “One of the signs that I’m desperate to get across to people is if you cannot put your chin to your chest, that is a real sign you need to get medical assistance straight away.
Matthew Fox died three years ago after contracting meningitis. Picture: Sue Gray
“I don’t think meningitis is spoken about enough. And it actually saved my youngest son’s life, knowing that.
“It can be flu-like symptoms, cold-like symptoms, nausea, sickness, diarrhoea, fever, headaches. Obviously, in Matthew’s case, he was unconscious.
“The chin to the chest is something to really look out for because everyone concentrates on rashes.
Mrs Gray is now calling for the government to fund jabs for the MenB variant.
“There is actually a jab that you can pay for but it’s not funded by the NHS yet,” she said.
“We are desperately seeking the government to change this because it’s the meningitis B strain that seems to be causing deaths.
The last picture Sue and Matthew have together. Picture: Sue Gray
“A few other mothers and I who have suffered grief from losing our children to meningitis have been in touch with the government.
“We really do need the NHS to inject our children before they go off to college and universities.
“I just want to try and prevent as many parents going through grief the same way that I am.”
Mrs Gray added: “It really does make me upset, angry and frustrated that people are still not listening.
“And I just really do want to get the word out there just to get more awareness for meningitis and also to try and get universities to maybe educate the children before they come into uni to get the jabs done.
Mrs Gray says she doesn’t want anyone to go through the same grief as her. Picture: Sue Gray
“I don’t want to see more deaths caused by meningitis. Not now, not ever.”
A MenB vaccination programme has been rolled out in Kent and as of April 1 almost 12,000 people had received the jab.
More than 13,500 doses of antibiotics were also administered as a precaution.
Club Chemistry in Canterbury was at the centre of last month’s meningitis outbreak.
A vaccine rollout began on March 18 for students living in halls at the University of Kent’s city campus and has since been widened.
Matthew with his mum Sue. Picture: Sue Gray
The two people who died were a University of Kent student and Juliette, a Year 13 pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, described by her head teacher as a “much-loved and treasured member of our school community”.
Any decision on whether there should be a routine vaccination programme would be made by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The DHSC acts on independent advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which does not currently recommend a routine MenB booster vaccination for adolescents and young adults.
However, the UK Health Security Agency, which oversaw the response to the recent outbreak, says it will advise the JCVI to consider what has happened in Kent to confirm its latest advice.