Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Dozens of students have been turned away from a vaccination centre on the University of Kent's Canterbury campus due to a high demand for MenB jabs.

A university student and a sixth form pupil have died during the outbreak, which is believed to have started at a Canterbury nightclub.

The vaccine roll out has been expanded to include more students at the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and four local schools after the number of confirmed and suspected meningitis cases rose to 27.

At least 1,600 vaccines have been provided following the outbreak.

A new vaccination centre will open at Faversham Health Centre on Friday as part of the expansion while vaccines will also be available at the Vicarage Lane Clinic in Ashford. Students will still be able to get the vaccine from the University of Kent.

We are now ending our live coverage. You can read the latest updates on the outbreak in our story and across our website:

• What are the symptoms of meningitis and how is it spread?
• Why is MenB vaccine not given to teenagers in UK and should they be offered it?
• Why has this meningitis outbreak spread so fast?

Some 1,600 people have received vaccinations as of 5pm on Thursday, according to the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System.

That is 570 doses more being administered since 10:30 this morning, when the total sat at 930.

The local healthcare partnership adds that the number of antibiotics handed out had remained the same as previously reported, with 8,559 having been distributed.

Mollie Perella
BBC Newsbeat, reporting from the University of Kent

Three first year students from Canterbury Christ Church University caught up with BBC Newsbeat shortly after receiving their vaccine this afternoon.

Belle Hamilton, Ollie Seymour and Louis Poynter say they queued for around two hours to get their free vaccine. All three students were at Club Chemistry on 5 March.

Belle, 18, says she will spend tonight in her flat and try not to mix with anyone, but plans to return home tomorrow with her brother, who also goes to university in Kent.

"We’re going to wait it out at home for a bit before returning," says Belle.

"Everyone’s just hiding in their rooms and being cautious with going in the kitchen," she adds.

Her friend Ollie says while queuing up for his vaccine it felt like Covid with the social distancing.

For the 19-year-old, a normal Thursday might involve heading to the pub, but this week he will be avoiding socialising. "Nobody really wants to talk to each other," he says.

Louis adds that he will be taking precautions including "not going out and staying safe".

Simon Jones
Reporting from the University of Kent

A new vaccination centre will open tomorrow in Faversham - around 10 miles (16km) from Canterbury - after the government massively expanded the number of people who are eligible for meningitis jabs.

Vaccines will be available from 09:00 at Faversham Health Centre, and it will also open on Saturday.

The jabs will also be available tomorrow at the Vicarage Lane Clinic in Ashford, with the site at the University of Kent being open as well.

It has been a huge logistical operation for NHS staff to procure vaccines and staff to run the clinics - health bosses are confident they will be able to meet demand.

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

• The University of Kent has closed the vaccination queue on its campus due to high demand, with students being told to be in the queue by 14:00 GMT in the coming days in order to receive the jab
• Reporters at the scene estimate more than 100 people were turned away, and a security guard has been placed at the back to turn away latecomers. One student describes how they were unable to get the vaccine after driving for more than an hour to get to the campus
• It comes after the vaccine rollout was expanded to include more students in Kent, at universities and schools where there have been confirmed or probable cases identified

• Meanwhile, the government has announced that 20,000 Meningitis B vaccines will be released from the NHS supply for pharmacies to use, following reports of some running out of stock - more on that from our health editor Hugh Pym
• Earlier, six more cases of meningitis were confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases up to 15. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said it is also investigating a further 12 suspected cases - read more on what we mean by confirmed and suspected cases

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, the queue for vaccines at the University of Kent has closed for the day due to staffing capacity.

One of those who has been turned away, Hayden Taylor, attended the nightclub where the outbreak is believed to have originated, Club Chemistry, on 12 March - one day before the outbreak was publicly announced.

Today, the UK Health Security Authority expanded vaccine eligibility to all those who attended the venue between 5-15 March.

Taylor, 19, a radiography student at Canterbury Christ Church says he was turned away by security staff at the campus today when he arrived at 15:00 GMT.

"We already knew it was going to be busy," he says.

Isobel, 21, who studies English literature at the University of Kent has also been turned away for the day. She tells PA it is "very inconvenient" - after her mum spent over an hour driving her to the campus.

"I'm coming back tomorrow and hope that they have got some," she adds.

Earlier Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC that the meningitis outbreak has spread rapidly "at an extent we haven't seen before".

The disease can be spread through sneezing, coughing and kissing, according to the NHS, and is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.

Meningitis does not spread super easily. Sitting next to someone on a bus is not considered a risk, for example, our health correspondent writes.

The infection is usually spread by people who carry the virus or bacteria in their nose or throat but are not ill themselves, the NHS adds.

The disease can be very serious if not treated quickly and can cause life-threatening sepsis and permanent damage to the brain or nerves.

The NHS advises anyone who thinks they have meningitis to call 999 or go to their nearest A&E immediately.

Hugh Pym
Health editor

The Government has announced that 20,000 MenB vaccines will be released from the NHS supply for use by pharmacies - they will be made available for the private market within 48 hours.

This follows reports of pharmacies running out of stock because of a surge in demand by people wanting to pay for vaccinations.

Olivier Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said it was a positive step but it was not clear how effective the policy might be.

He says: "It is unlikely this will meet current levels of demand, with pharmacies getting hundreds of thousands of patients seeking vaccination in light of the outbreak in Kent.

"Given this demand, pharmacies need support from health officials to help them identify those most in need on their waiting lists."

Earlier, we reported that the UKHSA has expanded vaccine eligibility to all individuals who attended Club Chemistry between 5 March and 15 March, when it closed voluntarily.

Initially, precautionary antibiotics had been offered to those who attended the nightclub on the 5, 6 and 7 March after the UKHSA identified that a number of confirmed or suspected cases had been at the venue on those dates.

Today the agency says: "Anyone who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5th and 15th March will also be offered a vaccine and antibiotics as a precaution after one suspected case revisited the nightclub before it shut voluntarily."

We can bring you some more now on the queue for vaccinations at the University of Kent - which we have just reported is turning people away due to staffing capacity.

In an update on its Facebook page, the university said the queue has "closed" for the day but will reopen from 09:00 GMT - 17:00 GMT on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

On each of these days, it asks people to be in the queue by 14:00.

"The queue has been closed as nursing staff are unable to see any more people within the clinic's remaining opening hours today," the update says.

"The team have been working incredibly hard to vaccinate as many people as possible."

Jack Valpy
reporting from the University of Kent

Image source, PA Media

People joining the queue to receive the vaccine at the University of Kent have been turned away due to staffing.

The BBC understands it is not an issue of vaccine availability but rather keeping to staffing hours which need to end at 17:00 GMT.

The queue is currently too long for everyone to be seen by this time.

In its latest update, the UKHSA has identified the following groups as now being eligible to receive a meningitis B vaccine.

• Anyone who had been offered preventative antibiotic treatment - that includes University of Kent students who live on the Canterbury Campus and other relevant halls of residence, close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases, and students in the four education settings in Kent where cases have been confirmed
• Sixth form students (years 12 and 13) in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases are identified
• Any individuals who attended Club Chemistry from the 5th March until it closed voluntarily on 15th March

The update adds that future risk assessments may also extend vaccinations to other year groups and settings "on a case-by-case basis".

Oliver Whitfield-Miocic
BBC South East

The owner of Club Chemistry - the club where the outbreak is believed to have originated - has been reacting to the government's announcement that the vaccine drive will be expanded.

Louise Jones-Roberts had written to the prime minister and health secretary on Wednesday, urging them to take action.

Speaking to the BBC inside the nightclub, she says: “I’m just relieved, I’m really pleased. I wish they had done it to begin with but I’m grateful that it’s been done.”

Reacting to a letter written by 40 MPs calling for an even wider rollout, Jones-Roberts says: "It should go out, in my opinion, on a national basis.”

Some 15 people are confirmed to have meningitis in this latest outbreak, with a further 12 suspected cases.

So what do we mean by “confirmed” and “suspected”?

Doctors will be diagnosing patients based on a list of signs and symptoms.

If they suspect meningitis they will start treatment immediately, given how serious the disease can be.

At this point, this is referred to as a "suspected" case.

If a doctor suspects a patient has meningitis, they must also notify the public health protection team.

This is so any patterns in linked cases can be tracked and contacts can be given the right advice and any treatment they need as quickly as possible.

Cases are only "confirmed" after laboratory testing verifies they have the disease - this process is used in order to catch outbreaks just like this.

Phil Harrison
BBC Radio Kent

Businesses in Canterbury have told the BBC they are losing up to half their usual earnings as people stay away following the meningitis outbreak.

“We’re taking about half of what we usually do when the weather improves," says Sophie Treasaden, who runs The Refectory Kitchen in Canterbury. "We still see some regular customers but there have been very few tourists from London and France.”

The House of Agnes boutique hotel has also lost a third of its bookings this week as customers are panicking and cancelling their rooms due to the outbreak, its manager Sandy De Rougemont says.

“There’s no denying that this is a terrible disease but it is not as infectious as Covid and the risk to the general public is low,” Sandy tells the BBC.

Alice Antonsen works in a pharmacy in Canterbury and says the city is noticeably quieter.

“My daughter goes to school here and her class has been in single digit attendance this week, but I’m sending her in as meningitis is not as transmissible as Covid.”

Simon Jones
Reporting from the University of Kent

Eight hundred vaccines have been administered in Canterbury today, according to NHS England, in addition to the 630 yesterday.

A couple of hours ago, the government announced a massive expansion to the programme and who is eligible for vaccination. It is confident it will have enough supplies to cope.

Pria Rai and Mollie Perella
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, PA Media

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Health Secretary Wes Streeting says there is “no reason” for people to buy the vaccine privately.

“We make it available through the NHS to those groups at risk based on independent scientific advice,” he explains.

“In recent days, here in Canterbury we've made it more widely available than we normally would to targeted groups of students, club-goers, sixth-formers where we think there is a higher risk. We're doing this as a precaution."

Newsbeat has also been hearing from students who say it has been a “scary” time and “really quiet” on campus.

Pria Rai and Mollie Perella
BBC Newsbeat

More now from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has been speaking to reporters on a visit to the University of Kent.

Streeting has urged young people to be cautious about sharing vapes – but insists he’s not the “fun police”.

Speaking about how meningitis could be spread, he explains: “Firstly, it spreads through close personal contact.

“That can include things like kissing, sharing vapes, sharing drinks, living in shared accommodation, which is why we've been so proactive in getting antibiotics and vaccines out to students and now all club-goers who were at Club Chemistry in Canterbury from 5 March onwards.

“But the risk remains extremely low. In any normal year we would expect to see at least 350 cases and that's roughly one a day.”

Streeting advises that as a “rule of thumb” it is “not hygienic to share things like vapes around your mates.”

He adds: “It's absolutely fine for people to go about living their lives in a normal way, and there is no reason for me to be the fun police today and tell students across the country that they shouldn't be going out this weekend and doing the things that they would normally do in a nightclub.”