Parents of teen who died of MenB say vaccine rollout will save others

ByCatriona Aitken

BBC Wales

The parents of a university student who died from meningitis B say new vaccine advice represents a "poignant moment" and will save countless lives.

Helen and Lee Draper from Pontypool, Torfaen, lost their 18-year-old daughter Meg to meningitis B (MenB) in October 2025, just weeks after she started at the University of Bournemouth.

Last week, official advice changed, telling governments they should offer a free jab from age 15 - despite previously saying this was not cost effective.

The Welsh government said implementation took time and it must consider affordability, feasibility and the effect on the wider NHS.

Meg Draper had quickly settled in at university, making friends and joining its swimming and netball teams.

Her mother described her as "sporty, gregarious, outgoing, really charismatic, and chatty", adding: "She just loved being around people and people genuinely loved to be around her.

"She had this zest for life that was compelling. We were in awe of her."

Her parents said a swift decision by governments to act on the new guidance could "save countless young lives" and "make sure no more families have to endure the anguish, sorrow and devastation we have faced".

Meningitis is the swelling of the meninges, the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

University students are particularly at risk because they mix with lots of new people, and the bacteria that causes meningitis is spread in similar ways to the common cold through sneezing and coughing.

Physiotherapy student Meg was vaccinated against the meningitis strains A, C, W and Y when she was 14, through the NHS vaccination schedule, but not MenB as this is currently only offered to young children born after 2015 in Wales.

Helen and Lee have been campaigning for more widespread access to the MenB vaccine – previously saying it could have saved their daughter's life.

Reacting to the update from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), Helen said they were extremely pleased by the suggestion of a "catch-up programme" for young people who have not previously been vaccinated, but added governments needed to adopt it "sooner rather than later".

"It will also prevent others from suffering lifelong conditions such as amputations, deafness, and cognitive issues to name a few," she said.

"As we have seen by the recent outbreaks, meningitis can strike at any time, it is fast acting and can kill within hours."

She praised UK Health Secretary James Murray for his "impressive foresight and astuteness in introducing the MenB vaccine for freshers starting in September", adding she had "every faith" he would "do the right thing" and extend this in line with the new JCVI guidance.

"Our hope is that Wales too will follow suit and protect our vulnerable youngsters," she said.

"We are suffering the most horrific and tragic loss of our beautiful, exuberant and compassionate daughter, who had such a promising future ahead of her.

"We could not sit back and witness more teenagers die from a preventable disease."

The UK government's Department of Health and Social Care said: "We will consider the advice and will update on any future programme in due course."

It will be up to ministers in each UK nation to look at the financial cost of providing the vaccine via the NHS and, if they wish to, how to offer it.

The Welsh government said it would "work through the JCVI advice to understand the potential options for introducing a wider MenB programme".

"We take the recent outbreaks of MenB extremely seriously, which is why we acted swiftly to introduce a time-limited MenB vaccination programme for 17 and 18-year-olds and freshers in Wales ahead of the new academic term," a spokeperson said.

"Eligible individuals are encouraged to come forward to receive two doses of the MenB vaccine."