<p>How many parents are having their son or daughter get this vaccine? It seems as if every year I hear of at least one college student in my state dying from this disease. My son will definitely pitch a fit about getting a shot, so I'm torn as to whether this vaccine is necessary or not.</p>
<p>The school my son is planning to attend requires it, so no choice here!</p>
<p>My DD is getting one…don’t want to have to worry about her getting sick. She’s not happy about having to get a shot but the alternative is worse!</p>
<p>D’s school requires it. It seems as if all of her friends (who will be attending a wide range of schools) are getting it so I think most schools do.</p>
<p>My pediatrician said the most prevalent age for meningitis is 15 so the vaccine is being routinely recommended for children as young as 11. My college bound son and my 14 year old were both vaccinated. I had every intention of having my son get the shot but I didn’t know about the prevalence among high school students. Neither of my children complained of residual pain after the injections. The tetanus injection was worse.</p>
<p>My college requires it. I got the vaccination last week. There was some serious soreness at the injection site, but nothing too bad.</p>
<p>Required by D’s college also. Even if it were not required, we’d get it. Getting a shot at 18 isn’t the same as getting a shot at 8…maybe he’s outgrown the “pitching a fit” stage.</p>
<p>We all had to have it for living overseas…so we’re done.</p>
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<p>I’m confused.<br>
Are you saying that you might skip the shot if Son pitches a fit?<br>
Or are you unconvinced that the illness is a real risk?</p>
<p>I got my shot.
One less thing to worry about.</p>
<p>I try to avoid medicine/shots when I can, as I don’t want to overload my body with junk. I never get the flu shot, but this is a shot where I see nothing but benefits. (:</p>
<p>Be sure you get the Menactra conjugate vaccine instead of the old Menimmune polysaccharide vaccine. Conjugate vaccines provide better and longer lasting immunity.</p>
<p>My 14 yr. old got the vaccine yesterday. His pediatrician said, “This is the one shot I really recommend.” It’s good for 10 years.</p>
<p>My Ds both got the shot before they went to camp a few years ago. I didn’t realize there was a newer version. I’ll have to check with their doctor about which one they got.</p>
<p>D’s school requires it but I was going to get one for her anyway. This is one really scary disease and students who live together like in a dorm are more prone to it.</p>
<p>I attended a function where a speech was given by a young lady who contracted the disease while in college. She was a very healthy college student and then almost overnight almost died. She ended up where now she’s unable to walk and has some other issues but she was lucky to have survived it at all. </p>
<p>I think in retrospect I think she would have done the shot but they weren’t as commonly given when she went to college.</p>
<p>I don’t really think this decision should be left up to the student unless they’re estranged from the family and on their own. The family will have a lot to deal with if the student contracts the disease.</p>
<p>Do like we do - if you get a shot you also get to stop at Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. That works fairly well from young childhood through adulthood.</p>
<p>I think most colleges are requiring it. Massachusetts requires it for any student planning to live in a dorm in the state. </p>
<p>D’s pediatrician recommended she get it at her 17 year old check up (spring of Junior year). She said it lasts for 10 years and she’ll need it for college anyway, why not get the protection now? So she got it, no side effects to speak of.</p>
<p>Required for dorm residence in the state in which my kids attend college ¶. Therefore, they both received it and had no side effects. They would have gotten it even if it was not required for college, though. My brother had meningitis when he was 10 (about 45 years ago) and I would not want them to go through that.</p>
<p>My son got it before he went to college in MA, along with some other booster vacs he needed. My daughter just got it this summer (leaving for college this fall), but then I found out that the meningitis strain that is more prevalent in the NW is different from the one the vaccine protects against. There is no vaccine for the strain more commonly found here.</p>
<p>Still, for what it’s worth, she at least has protection now for the less common (but still present) strain.</p>
<p>She’s getting a lot of vacs this year; meningitis, HPV (3 shots), tetnus booster, chicken pox booster, hep A (2 shots). Poor kid, she’s a pin cushion. But she’d rather get them than not get them.</p>
<p>The scary thing about meningitis is that many of its symptoms mirror the flu. My husband came down with it years ago and did not have many symptoms. He first appeared sick at 11 p.m. and by the time I decided he needed to go to the hospital at about 3 a.m., he could not walk. The doctor in the ER said that had we let it go another few hours he would probably have died, as it was, he was unconscious for 48 hours and we called in the family (no long term effects). This is one vaccine I would insist a child get. And also tell them that if they feel differently than they have before when they were sick to seek medical attention.</p>
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<p>It was required for both of my kids by their colleges. They BOTH got the shots. If it hadn’t been required by the college, WE would have still insisted that they get the shots. Living in a dorm is too close quarters to test the fates.</p>