Columbia and Barnard have very strict vaccination requirements too. If you look at what happened at some British universities, you can understand why. There have been several deaths as a result of outbreaks at English and Welsh universities. Tragic.
Was going to have my kid get shots for Meningitis B before college but was concerned about side effects. Does anyone know if Stanford student had Meningitis B disease?
My son had Trumenba shot in February and other than a sore arm did not complain.
He is getting the second shot in August.
My son got the Men B last week because Ohio requires it but Georgia does not. He had a low grade fever, arm soreness and fatigue, for about 48 hours. He’s fine now.
I understand there are two types of Men B vaccines: Trumenba and the other starting with a “B”.
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.
I have D at SCU and was freshman when this happened in 2016, it was very scary. Thanks goodness for rapid response. I have re-read this article several times, always hits me emotionally thinking of what they went through and how it could have gone very differently in just a matter of moments or with different actions by those involved.
Trumenba can be given in 2 or 3 doses
Thanks. What are pros and cons of each type?
That’s something you just have to research. At time we did it, Trumenba was deemed more effective, but that was per the research we found and our pediatrician’s opinion (it may have also just been the one he carried, ya never know really). Others may feel differently or have different data. Both are effective. FDA approval was first for Trumenba, so there were a few more studies available at the time, but Bexsero could be as effective, it was just second to be approved. (Competition in vaccines is good to keep price point down.) There is likely more data since we got ours in 2016. Here’s a couple sites below that have some info, or you an just ask you student’s doctor which they prefer. Just be sure they know you are asking about Men B, health care professionals that answer the phones still often confuse the two types or assume you are referring to the vaccine a person first gets as a child and again a around 15 - those earlier vaccines that go by the names Menactra, Menveo or Menomune, MPSV4, MCV4 and cover Meningitis/serogroup A, C, W & Y. Be sure they know you are asking about Men B and the vaccines Trumenba and Bexsero.
https://pphr.princeton.edu/2014/11/04/approving-trumenba-why-not-bexsero/
@CADREAMIN Thanks for all info I needed. Yeah, he got other Men vaccines. Just need Men B.
@romanigypsyeyes I just have to comment on this statement. This can be read as “you shouldn’t get this vaccine.” That’s not what is meant by “not recommended.” What is meant is that this vaccine is not included on the official CDC vaccine schedule for children. I happen to know the reason why it is not on the schedule, and that reason has nothing to do with the vaccine not being “recommended.” I’ve spoken to some people on CDC’s ACIP – the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices about this. It has more to do with politics than medicine, meaning that they didn’t think the American public would react well to another vaccine being added to the schedule. If not for that, they would have included it.
I’m not sure how it read like that, but here’s the whole quote:
There are several vaccines that aren’t recommended for the general population because the odds of getting the disease is minimal. Men B isn’t recommended for the general population because the odds of getting men B are virtually non-existent for people in the US. It’s the same reason we don’t routinely give dengue vaccines.
Of course it’s political. Everything in medicine is.
So I stick by what I said: it’s not recommended for the general population. It isn’t because it doesn’t have a decent chance to infect the general population. I’m not sure why it would be problematic to add it to the vaccination schedule since people usually balk at vaccines in babies, not adults. The Men B wouldn’t be recommended for general population children the same way our regular men vaccines aren’t.
I think there are good reasons why it’s not recommended, whether or not there may also be political considerations: relatively low protection rate, very short-lived protection, and the rarity of the actual disease.
That said, the CDC, etc., plainly state it’s up to patients & their doctors to decide, based on the guidelines. “Not recommended” definitely does not mean “recommend that you not get this.”
Purdue now requires one dose of Meningitis Conjugate on or after 16th birthday, and a complete series (2 or 3 doses depending on the vaccine given) of Meningitis B if 23 or younger for incoming freshman. Before this year, Men B was optional. We scrambled to get the Men B series done this spring, and yes, my daughter compained of a sore arm for days. That said, she’ll be living in a dorm, with domestic and international students, and the fact sheet that I saw said there were five college outbreaks for Men B in the US over the last several years.
Our pediatrician said she felt it was necessary for college students, especially those living in dorms, and would have recommended it even if the college didn’t require it.
@romanigypsyeyes - From what I’ve read online, including the CDC website, you are correct that vaccination against meningitis B is not recommended for the general population. However, it is recommended for all students heading to college. Why? Because students who live in very close quarters in dormitories, who share drinks, utensils, kiss, etc., are at much higher risk of contracting meningitis B than the general population. It is also true that the vaccination doesn’t prevent someone who has been vaccinated from infecting others and that the effectiveness and duration of the vaccination isn’t yet proven to be long-lasting. But as @momofsenior1 and others point out above, cases of meningitis B seem to be occurring more frequently on college campuses, so it seems a good precaution for all students entering college to have the vaccinations - unless they have medical reasons for not getting it. I am very grateful to everyone on this thread who posted their concerns ad shared helpful information about the availability of the vaccines.
Yes, that’s what I was trying to say. You said it better.
The “regular” – meaning the conjugate for meningitis serotypes A,C,W, and Y – are on the vaccine schedule recommended for all children at age 11-12 years for the first dose, and 16 years for the second dose.
Here’s the entire vaccine schedule.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/child/0-18yrs-child-combined-schedule.pdf
This is the CDC explanation of the meningococcal B vaccine:
Serogroup B meningococcal vaccines (minimum age: 10 years [Bexsero, Trumenba].
Clinical discretion: Adolescents not at increased risk for meningococcal B infection who want MenB vaccine.
MenB vaccines may be given at clinical discretion to adolescents 16–23 years (preferred age 16–18 years) who are not at increased risk.
• Bexsero: 2 doses at least 1 month apart.
• Trumenba: 2 doses at least 6 months apart. If the 2nd dose is given earlier than 6 months, give a 3rd dose at least 4 months after the 2nd.
Special populations and situations: Anatomic or functional asplenia, sickle cell disease, persistent complement component deficiency (including eculizumab use), serogroup B meningococcal disease outbreak
• Bexsero: 2-dose series at least 1 month apart.
• Trumenba: 3-dose series at 0, 1-2, and 6 months.
Note: Bexsero and Trumenba are not interchangeable.
For additional meningococcal vaccination information, see meningococcal MMWR publications at: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vaccspecific/mening.html
Where is it recommended, absent an outbreak?
@alooknac -" The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that a meningitis B vaccine may be administered to adolescents and young adults." See MacNeil JR, Rubin L, Folaranmi T, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of serogroup B meningococcal vaccines in adolescents and young adults: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR. 2015;64(41):1171-1176. Also, “The vast majority of all cases of meningococcal disease occurring in the United States are sporadic (97%–98%). However, outbreaks of meningococcal disease continue to occur and often receive media attention because of the severity of invasive meningococcal disease. In recent years, outbreaks of serogroup B meningococcal disease have occurred on several different college campuses. Data from 2 recent outbreaks on college campuses (spring 2013 through spring 2014) noted a 200- to 1400-fold increase in risk of meningococcal disease among students at these colleges during the outbreak period (CDC, unpublished data).” From Pediatrics, September 2016, VOLUME 138 / ISSUE 3, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, Recommendations for Serogroup B Meningococcal Vaccine for Persons 10 Years and Older, COMMITTEE ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Of course, what is so anxiety-inducing for parents (of immunity-deficient infants or college-bound adolescents), is precisely the lack of clarity around this issue, as exemplified in the above statement "The CDC recommends that a meningitis B vaccine may be administered… " so parents are having their kids vaccinated, rather than risk misdiagnoses of “flu.”
We had our D get the meningitis B shots because 1) a local college had recently had an outbreak, so it was in our area, and 2) the college she was entering in the fall had a lot of OOS/international students and she’d be dorming her first year for sure, and 3) she contracted latent TB when she was in middle school. We still don’t know where, but it was a chest x-ray, 9 months of daily pills, and some dietary restrictions. Oh, plus the knowledge that the TB skin test will always come back positive should she need to be tested for any job or volunteer position in the future. And this is a kid who was up on ALL of her immunizations. I remember the mumps and chicken pox as a child - no thank you.