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.<\/p>\n
Sue Gray\u2019s son, Matthew Fox, was aged just 21 when he contracted the disease in April, 2023, and she said it was \u201cvital\u201d for the jab to be easily accessible.<\/p>\n
Matthew Fox, 21, from the Isle of Sheppey, died in April 2023 after contracting meningitis. Picture: Sue Gray<\/p>\n
At the time of writing, the total number of cases linked to last month\u2019s outbreak in Canterbury was 21.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Sheppey mum, who has recently taken over The Admiral\u2019s Arm micropub in Queenborough, said she did not want anyone else to lose their life to \u201csomething which can be prevented\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mrs Gray, whose younger son, Zak, also contracted meningitis last year but survived, wants people to be more aware of the important signs.<\/p>\n
The 50-year-old explained: \u201cOne 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.<\/p>\n
Matthew Fox died three years ago after contracting meningitis. Picture: Sue Gray<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t think meningitis is spoken about enough. And it actually saved my youngest son’s life, knowing that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be flu-like symptoms, cold-like symptoms, nausea, sickness, diarrhoea, fever, headaches. Obviously, in Matthew’s case, he was unconscious.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chin to the chest is something to really look out for because everyone concentrates on rashes.<\/p>\n
Mrs Gray is now calling for the government to fund jabs for the MenB variant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is actually a jab that you can pay for but it’s not funded by the NHS yet,” she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are desperately seeking the government to change this because it’s the meningitis B strain that seems to be causing deaths.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The last picture Sue and Matthew have together. Picture: Sue Gray<\/p>\n
\u201cA few other mothers and I who have suffered grief from losing our children to meningitis have been in touch with the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really do need the NHS to inject our children before they go off to college and universities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to try and prevent as many parents going through grief the same way that I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs Gray added: \u201cIt really does make me upset, angry and frustrated that people are still not listening.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd 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.<\/p>\n
Mrs Gray says she doesn\u2019t want anyone to go through the same grief as her. Picture: Sue Gray<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t want to see more deaths caused by meningitis. Not now, not ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
A MenB vaccination programme has been rolled out in Kent and as of April 1 almost 12,000 people had received the jab.<\/p>\n
More than 13,500 doses of antibiotics were also administered as a precaution.<\/p>\n
Club Chemistry in Canterbury was at the centre of last month\u2019s meningitis outbreak.<\/p>\n