Coventry/Health America covered the vaccine.
Man, you guys should move to Florida. All vaccines free for those under 19 at County Health clinics. It has one of the worse medicaid programs in the nation, so maybe they figure everyone needs vaccinating. You can’t participate in schools, day care, rec centers, or any public activities without vaccination records.
Here’s an update:
I went to the doctor’s office with my son to clear up the miscommunication. It turns out the doctor said she thought it was a mistake on the paper and gave him the quad vaccine since the last time he had it was 3 years ago.
She says they don’t have it in the office, ( I was told on the phone that they could order it) but that if I am really that really concerned I should call the school and get it at some other practice. She didn’t offer to call around or have her staff find out who does offer it. This is Manhattan. I’m sure I’ll find somewhere.
That said, if Walgreens has it, I’m checking there, too!
I did call the school and they said that they’ve heard of prices as high as $250 for this vaccine for Meningitis B. A girl died from B at this school a couple of years ago. I am not taking any chances. It’s not required in the state where the school is but obviously they recommend it strongly now.
@mommdc Thank you for the links!
Some schools now require both Men. vaccines. Rutgers (younger son’s school) started requiring both last year. They suggested the three shot version, but both of my kids already had the one with only two. Having experienced meningitis with one kid at age four, we are all for vaccines. Meningitis is scary.
They highly recommend flu shots but don’t require them. When my older one was at Cornell, they had free flu shots. I make sure both kids keep getting those, too. Yale (he’s now getting a PhD there) was able to give him the egg-free version (he’s vegan). I couldn’t find it anywhere at home.
Insurance was very good about covering all of the vaccines, but I didn’t worry about it either way.
@TQfromtheU I have an appointment next week for her!
A good friend of mine died of meningitis as a freshman in college. Please get your children vaccinated.
This is a repost of a thread I put up in January, as this topic repeats about every 6 months on here, some repeat of what has been already said on this thread, but hope it’s helpful:
I am not in health care, but am a parent of a student that experienced a Meningitis B outbreak on campus last year. I thought it could be helpful to put out a reminder to parents of new freshman that want to get the Meningitis B vaccine prior to college in fall to plan ahead (particularly if you want/get Trumemba) because of the gap between shots. This is a different vaccine than the one you get as a child and then again as a booster in your teens - those earlier vaccines go by the names Menactra, Menveo or Menomune, MPSV4, MCV4 and cover Meningitis/serogroup A, C, W & Y. That earlier childhood vaccine does not cover Type B. In the United States, B, C, & Y are the most common. I am giving all this background because when speaking to a healthcare provider or college, it is important you are referring to the correct Meningitis vaccine - it can be confusing!
These newer vaccines are for Meningitis B, which has been the cause of the college outbreaks that we have heard about most recently (SCU, Oregon, Princeton, UCSB, Providence).
Two Meningitis B vaccines — Bexsero® and Trumenba® — have been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
–Trumenba® is given as 3 doses, with the second dose 2 months after the first and the third dose 6 months after the first.
Or
–Bexsero® is given as 2 doses, at least 1 month apart.
Availability and insurance coverage varies, but it seems much more widely available/approved than a year ago.
Here’s that very informative (and a bit emotional) article about the SCU student and his recovery which lays out the symptoms he went through - very scary and lucky things played out as they did (quick medical response was key):
And here’s a pretty good collection of Q&As put out by UCSB who dealt with their own Meningitis B outbreak. It has some answers to questions some may have specifically about the vaccines…
My brother got meningitis the week before starting college. He’d worked at a department store and two other stock boys got it. LONG hospitalization and he nearly died. He did recover nearly fully, but it wiped him out of college for a year. Not a nice way to take a gap year.
My mom was one of those passive fraidy-cats who was more concerned about the hype in the media about possible harmful side effects of vaccines. She didn’t have a strong opinion, but doing nothing was easier, so he was never vaccinated for it.
Wow, did she change her tune. She now does speaking tours in highschools talking to parents about meningitis and advocating for better vaccine laws.
When you see your kid, or in my case…your brother…fighting for his life at 18…it gives you a serious perspective about the importance of vaccination.
I was able to order the men B vaccine through a Target pharmacy with a prescription last year. The nurse at the pediatrician then administered it. My insurance covered it 100%.
I had quiet an adventure last summer trying to find the vaccine. Most doctors and clinics did not know what I was talking about. I finally had a doctor at a CVS pharmacy clinic check on it. She ordered the vaccine and my son was able to be immunized before leaving for school.
A question- My DS got dose #1 of Bexsero, but has to go to campus for two weeks this summer, before he can take dose #2. Should dose #1 be enough to hold him. He is leaving town on day 29 after dose #1.
@TQfromtheU While I am not a health professional, from what I have read and told by our doctor, yes. We did Trumemba and were told protection starts with the first shot. Added to the fact that protection starts immediately, and statistically the risk of exposure is low, you are doing all you can to protect him. Key is to get the next one as close to on schedule as possible. I have found they are strict on the minimum between shots (not even two days early kind of thing), but there is a little float if you are later getting the follow up shot.
“Although some protection is achieved after the first shot, studies have shown this response soon wanes, and it is very important to complete the series for each product in order to develop full and longer lasting protection against disease.”
Another question/answer I found that may interest you from the UCSB sheet on the Men B vaccines:
If I can’t get the shots exactly on schedule, will that be a problem?
NO, the vaccine still works if the intervals between the shots have to be extended longer than the recommended follow-up doses. However, the fastest protection will be achieved by adhering to the schedule.
We’re in CA and my daughter is going to college in NY (Columbia). They don’t require any meningitis vaccine, although she was already up-to-date on the “regular” vaccine. They have to fill out an online form saying whether they’ve had the meningitis vaccine or not but it is not required. All that is required is MMR. I wanted her to get MenB so I found a local pharmacy that carries it (there weren’t many) and had her doctor fax a Rx for it. My insurance thankfully covered it and I had no co-pay. We just went yesterday and will go back in a month for the second dose.
Can you look into having him get the second shot when he is on campus for the two weeks?
Thank you @CADREAMIN and @techmom99 - I called the health center on campus. They have limited doses of the Bexsero and charge $130 for the vaccine. I think I will have him go back to our doctor when he gets back.
Our health department had them in summer of 2015 when D got them.
My d15’s college didn’t require the Bexsero vaccine, and our insurance (Kaiser) doesn’t recommend it either. But I was able to get Kaiser to cover it d15 this summer because she’s going to the UK to study abroad next fall, and it’s apparently a standard vaccine in Europe. Next summer, I’ll just pay for it for D18 if insurance won’t cover it.
@MSHopeful Columbia doesn’t require the vaccine but at the beginning of the year they run clinics and strongly encourage all students to get it. Conversely if you don’t return your on line vaccination form, they really will block your registration and bar you from enrolling.
@exlibris97 Thanks for the info. I checked today and her hold has been removed after sending the MMR form last week and filling out the meningitis online questionnaire thing. I’m getting her the B vaccine just to be safe and want to do it while she’s still covered under my plan since there is no copayment.
Another reason to get the men vaccine:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/meningitis-vaccine-protects-against-gonorrhea-too-n781831