The parents of a young woman who died from meningitis B just weeks after starting university have welcomed the Welsh Government's decision to roll out the MenB vaccine for teenagers. Megan Draper, 18, from Pontypool, died in October 2025 after contracting the disease. Her parents, Lee and Helen Draper, believe she would still be alive if the vaccine had been available to them.
Campaigning for awareness
Since their daughter's death, the Drapers have campaigned to raise awareness about meningitis B. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, Helen Draper tearfully recalled Megan's final days. "Meg was really excited to go to university. She was going to Bournemouth to study physiotherapy. Five weeks into her studies she became lethargic and she contacted us to say she wasn't feeling very well. That rang alarm bells for us because Megan was so social and outgoing."
The next morning, Megan felt worse. She had a rash, had been sick, and had a headache and fever. Her parents advised her to seek medical help. She contacted NHS 111 and was turned away twice from A&E. Her parents then drove to Bournemouth to bring her home to south Wales. "On the journey home we were taking her back home to Wales and she deteriorated and ended up having catastrophic brain damage from MenB," Helen continued.
New vaccine initiative
The Welsh Government launched the vaccination programme on Friday as a precautionary measure following a MenB outbreak in Kent that killed two students in March 2026. The programme will run from July to December 2026 and will be available to all 17-18-year-olds born between September 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008, as well as anyone aged 18-25 starting higher education or residential further education, including international students.
Lee Draper said they were unaware that the routine school vaccinations did not cover MenB. "What we realised after Megan had contracted MenB was that the vaccine only covered other strains. We were completely unaware about MenB and we were completely unaware that there was actually a vaccine for MenB and that would have been available to us privately at the time."
The couple support the government's rollout and urge others to take up the vaccine. "People have been reaching out to us after our tragedy and they're desperate, they want it to protect their children, and if we had access to this then Meg would still be here," they said.
