FEWER young people in Cumbria received the jab which prevents meningitis last year than before the pandemic, new figures show.

The UK Health Security Agency figures show 78 per cent of year 9 students in Cumbria got the MenACWY vaccine, which protects against four strains of the meningococcal bacteria, in the 2021-22 academic year.

This is a significant fall from 88.8 per cent in 2018-19, the last academic year before the pandemic.

This data was given at Cumbria county level, however, the immunisation programme is split into two different commissioning bodies in the region. 

For south Cumbria, NHS England North West was the body in charge of administering the MenACWY vaccine in schools. 

A spokesperson for NHS England - North West said: “While data shows that uptake of the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio vaccine (3-in-1) teenage booster and MenACWY vaccine in the year 9 cohort in south Cumbria in 2021/22 was lower than in 2018/19, the school-aged immunisation team continues to catch up those children who missed a vaccination in years 10 and 11 and those additional vaccination numbers are not yet reflected in any published data.

READ MORE: NHS encourages vital pre-school vaccine uptake in South Cumbria

"In addition, appointments in community clinics are available all year round and young people who didn’t have their 3-in-1 or MenACWY vaccines and are no longer in school can still get their vaccines at their GP surgery, with the MenACWY vaccine offered up to the age of 25.

“All vaccines are thoroughly tested for safety and are continually monitored after they are introduced. All medicines have side effects, but vaccines are among the safest interventions available, the benefits far outweigh any risks and we’d urge people to take up vaccines when they are offered.”

The NHS says that childhood vaccination programmes prevent around 5,000 deaths and over 100,000 hospital admissions each year in England. 

These vaccinations ensured that diseases such as polio and diphtheria have practically been eradicated in the UK. However, if people stop having vaccines, it's possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again.

Vaccines teach an immune system how to create antibodies to protect itself from diseases. The NHS says that it is much safer for an immune system to learn this through vaccination than by catching the disease.