IMO, it is very important that every incoming freshman be immunized against meningitis, particularly if he or she will be living in a dorm. Every year several college freshmen in the U.S. die of meningitis. When my son was a freshman, another freshman at his school died of meningitis on the last day of class. She was “remembered” at graduation last week because she would have been in that graduating class.
There are two types of vaccines. The first has been around for a long time and requires two doses (at least when my children were immunized). Many incoming freshmen may have already had those doses but you should check. The second vaccine was just approved by the FDA in late 2014. The outbreak that occurred at Princeton last year was a type that was not covered by the old vaccine. (See http://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/outbreaks/vaccine-serogroupb.html). The new vaccine is hard to find. Pediatricians might have it but most doctors and pharmacies do not. If you cannot find the vaccine and want a suggestion of where you should be able to find it, PM me. Since this vaccine is very new and hard to find you may choose not to get it. But you should definitely consider getting the original vaccine and talking to your doctor about meningitis outbreaks.
WARNING: I am not a doctor, health professional or in any way an expert on this issue. I am simply a mother. You should consider this post to be nothing more than a suggestion to find out about these vaccines and make the decision you feel is best.
I PM’d you. Not sure if this is common, but our high school now requires seniors to have a meningitis vaccination. I am going to get the common vaccine as well as the serogroup B vaccine. I am trying to find someone offering Bexsero since it is only 2 shots.
My daughter has had the first type of vaccine and I was planning to request the second when she sees her pediatrician later this summer. I assume I’ll have to pay out of pocket for the vaccine but think it’s worth it. She is going to be a senior in high school. I plan to call the pediatrician to find out about availability. I agree it’s important.
You might check with your county health department as the vaccines should be free for any child under 18. When we moved to Florida I found out all vaccines are free there, even the Gardisil ones that I’d paid $400+ for. Flu shots, anything needed. My kids originally got the meningitis shots at 11 because they went to all kinds of camps as kids/teens, and originally they weren’t going to need a booster, but at some time between age 11 and 18, the recommendations changed and they had to get a booster.
I’ve been wrestling with this issue. I had thought that my soon to be college daughter was covered for meningitis, had the meningitis conjugate vaccine at 11 yrs and a booster at 16 yrs old. Then I find out that the vaccine she got covers the most common serogroups, but not B. So now I am worried and feel I need to protect her. Our insurance covers it as adult vaccine and our deductible applies. I wouldn’t care about the cost.
But I have been reading up about this and have other concerns.
How long will immunity last? There are no studies on that yet because the vaccine is so new.
If the immunity wears off and then you are in your 20s would the illness be even more severe?
What if new vaccine still won’t cover all strains of serogroup B?
What if a new serogroup forms if everyone is protected from all others?
Which vaccine should I get? There are differences between them.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and my responses are based on vaccines IN GENERAL and not about the MenB vaccine which I haven’t caught up on.
Vaccines are constantly monitored after they are released. If the immunity wears off, there will be a booster shot.
Than if you had never been immunized? No.
Then covering some is still better than none.
Then it wouldn’t matter if you are protected (there are other issues with this statement but I’ll leave it at that).
Really, you should get the standard one that your local doctor has. B is incredibly, incredibly rare in the US. Non-existent until a few years ago. You can seek out B if you want but it’s not a pressing concern IMO.
A young woman died in my dorm of Meningitis a few years ago. I watched my dad battle Meningitis twice. It is nothing to screw around with and it breaks my heart that people go off to college unprotected.
@romanigypsyeyes, like I said, I’m just a Mom who is conflicted about this. The questions I raised are just questions that came up for me after reading more information, not statements.
If I knew without a doubt that getting this shot is the best thing to do, then I would.
I found out about Men B on the internet. We got all the booster shots the Ped recommended (Varicella, MCV4). They did not say anything about the current one not covering this serogroup. They could not recommend this new shot because it was not licensed here. Even now the CDC only recommends it for a high risk group.
The ACIP I think is meeting in June to discuss recommendation to expanded target groups.
You say it’s so rare, but is devastating. I don’t want to gamble with my child’s health, but feel like I want to know more, but it is so new that information is limited.
To me this is just recent info that I checked into because of someone on CC posting about it. How many people do you think even know about it? It was licensed just recently, insurance companies are not all covering it at 100%, what if someone can’t afford to get this shot?
@mommdc, Do you have a family doctor? You’re much better off getting medical information from your family physician than from an anonymous internet forum.
@greenbutton, of course the university requires the meningitis shot, our state requires it.
I have stated that my daughter got the meningitis shot that was available at 11 yrs old and booster at 16 yrs old.
But that shot does not cover this serogroup B kind of meningitis. The vaccine that is new and covers it has just recently been licensed, they can’t require that one yet because the CDC has not made recommendation that everyone or even every college student should get it.
I asked my doctor about it. They said they don’t have the shot, but they can order it and the insurance might not cover it because it has not been universally recommended for this target group.
I can’t get information about the safety and effectiveness of this new vaccine because it has only been around a few years and just recently in the US.
I said that I personally have questions about this new vaccine. Everyone will have to make this decision for themselves, but asking legitimate questions is not wrong imo.
But are there any downsides to taking the B vaccine? If it doesn’t work, are you any worse off (other than out some money) than you would be if you didn’t? A vaccine might not prevent the illness, but doesn’t make the patient any worse. It is not as if you are choosing between two different types of treatment and to pick one you have to forgo the other.
OP, you misunderstood me, I think. I literally didn’t understand what you are conflicted about – safety? cost? The Princeton outbreak was for a kind of meningitis for which there is a vaccine. So, if you are worried about that strain, you would get the vaccine. Or, if you are concerned about the safety of the vaccine and that outweighs concern about catching a relatively rare strain, you would take your chances. And if you can’t decide which you worry about more, you come to CC…I get that, now. Not making a veiled comment about vaccines!
Fwiw, we didnt have our sons vaccinated early with the varicella, because of those same “untried and new” concerns. By the time we’d had the first, but not the booster, my son’s illness engulfed his immune system and he cannot have the booster, and has no varicella immunity. So, you never know…
This article explains some of the unique difficulties in developing a safe and effective vaccine for men B.
It is not simply a matter of making a vaccine similar to the other men vaccine and cover the B strain, due to characteristics unique to this strain they have to develop a whole new vaccine to attack the B strain but at the same time not cause autoimmunity.
How long has Bexsero been around in Europe? The information I read seemed to indicate that it was licensed there in 2013. And Trumenba is even newer, although it was licensed in the US earlier.
@twoinanddone, I think at this point it is unknown if there are any downsides.
This site mentions that men B vaccine has been licensed in UK since 2013, but has just this year been introduced into the routine immunization schedule.
@greenbutton, thank you for clarifying. I’m not the OP of this thread, but I thought I would post because I have just found out that the men vaccine my daughter got previously doesn’t protect against men B, but I’m also worried about the safety and longterm effectiveness of this new vaccine.
Parents should definitely check to see which vaccines their students need prior to enrollment. My D’s university requires proof of a Meningococcal booster and the required form specifies the doses it accepts:
My H (a physician) says the question is not so much what campuses require, but whether there are more recently-approved vaccines that may cover additional strains since the last booster shot.
Off topic: frankly, the HPV vaccine is equally important to young people.