Meningitis Vaccines

@cadreamin good article and info.

Thank you CA dreaming, and good news for that kid! I’ve already been on it, and my 17 year old has had the first dose, which was $180 and I had to go to a pharmacy that my insurance didn’t cover and have to submit it separately. I had trouble finding it, and finally I called the CDC (I think) bc our local dept of health didn’t know where to get it. The CDC had records of who had it, and they were very helpful.

One of my most vivid childhood memories was waiting at the hospital with my mother, as my cousin battled meningitis. She was a student, attending a university near us. They wanted family to be there if she passed away. She pulled through, but it was very close. Today she is a successful, happy woman. She was lucky. Others during that outbreak were not.

Please get vaccinated.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield paid for the vaccines for both my kids. For one of them I had to pay the doctor up front and then they reimbursed me after the insurance company paid them. Absolutely get vaccinated. A few days of stiff upper arms was the only side effect and certainly no big deal.

Health America paid for my D’s Trumenba 3 shot series. That was last year.

My college covered the cost of the jabs through the student health fee.

Hello, turns out that Trumenba has just been approved for 2 doses!

I’m going to get the Meningitis B vaccine for my son before his 6-week summer program. I talked with his doctor at his last regular appointment, and she said that since he’s currently a junior, they will be more likely to have it in stock and insurance will be more likely to pay a year from now. But, no sense in waiting if he’ll be in a dorm most of summer. We have Anthem Blue Cross.

How far apart should the shots be given and is there any data on level of protection before completing the series?

From the CDC website:

I’m wondering also, because the earliest afterschool vaccine appointment I could get at the doctor’s office is early June. They have Bexsero. Maybe I will call drug store chains/Costco to see if they can do it like they do flu shots.

Blue Cross Blue Shield now covers Bexsero. We paid for the first dose out of pocket, but they reimbursed us when we went for the second. It’s easier to give Bexsero, because you can do both doses while the student is home for the summer. Trumemba is harder to schedule, but if that’s the one your doctor offers, don’t be picky.

If your kid is studying in Europe, you should get one of these, as the B strain is the predominant one in many countries.

My daughter had the first shot of Bexsero last summer and still hasn’t had the second one! The first dose had given her a lot of pain in her arm that lasted for days. I thought I would wait till she was home for Christmas for the second dose, in case of any side effects. We were only at home in Seattle for a few days of her break, and again, as I did last summer, I called around to pharmacies and clinics to see who had it. The only place was the same Walgreens near the University of Washington where we found the original dose. But this time when we went in, they said they weren’t authorized to administer it! The pharmacist didn’t believe me that they had administered it last summer until he looked it up in their records. He offered to sell me the vaccine to take to a physician, but I didn’t have time to arrange an office visit at that point.

Here’s a pretty good collection of Q&As put out last year by UCSB who dealt with their own Meningitis B outbreak. It has some answers to questions some may have specifically about the vaccines…

http://studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu/services/medical-services/meningitis-b/new-meningitis-b-vaccine/meningitis-b-vaccine-faqs

And here’s that article about the SCU student and his recovery that I posted earlier, in case you didn’t go backwards on this thread, it’s interesting.

http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_29717784/santa-clara-university-meningitis-survivor-returns-school

D had her first shot of Bexsero today, she’ll have the other when she comes back home at the end of the summer. It’s covered by our insurance as well. Her doctor had it on hand and so did our health department.

My son had his first Bexsero shot today. He’s a junior but will be staying in a dorm for 6 weeks this summer. The 2nd shot will be just before he leaves.

I have been in the process of making sure our girl is fully immunized before heads off to the east coast for her freshman year. I phoned our pediatrician to discuss this matter a few weeks ago. I had read about the outbreak in Princeton a couple of years back and have followed new developments ever since. He informed me that he did not carry the vaccine for Meningitis B as it was too expensive to stock and that it would be very unlikely for him use up a batch of it before it expired. There is not a single physician on the island that carries it. I am hoping that the vaccine will be available through the health center at my daughter’s college. It is frightening to think that a young person could develop the sudden onset of symptoms of Meningitis B without a clue of what they have come down with. Without immediate medical diagnosis and treatment, Meningitis B could easily take their young, vibrant and hopeful lives.

@hiislandmom I bet your S can get it “on the east coast” via your insurance, if not through the campus health center. Hopefully the latter carries it. I was glad that there doesn’t seem to be a supply issue around here (Ohio).

My D had the first shot yesterday and is still quite sore (we are in PA). The pediatrician’s office suggested she try to get the second shot at school in the fall (CA), since she won’t be back here until December, but reading about some of the supply issues she may have to wait! I didn’t go with her and am assuming it was the two-shot brand, guess I’d better check.

@hiislandmom my doctors office also does not carry it, I went to our pharmacy and they ordered Bexsero and administered it. Worth calling and getting it done before she leaves.

I called all over looking for the MenB vaccination. I ended up using a website called HealthMap Vaccine Finder. I found CVS and Target (at least here) can order it and give it. CVS is cheaper.