meningitis vaccination

[5thAttempt]

I want to have opinions if meningitis vacination is needed, when and if yes than at what age 11, 12, 15, high school, college? Please state your choices with explanation.

[caro113]

Well I'll start off by saying that I don't believe in vaccines at all - just so you know that I am bias.

I believe the vaccine is recommended for college students bc of the close living quarters. What that has to do with anything if beyond me but that's what they say. Some people say (and I had friends actually tell me this too) that if you don't get it then you can't live in the dorms. Well, that's not true. I went to college and I never received it and I had no problems living in the dorms. It's the same thing as going to public school. They can't deny you bc you choose not to vaccinate.

I, personally, don't believe in the safety or the effectiveness of vaccines. Also, the body is better able to defend itself when it naturally meets a disease and naturally fights it off. So that's always a plus for not vaccinating.

Oh, and just a thought. I knew a guy in college who had spinal meningitis when he was grade school. He was home for like a month (maybe it was a week or two but I really want to say it was a month ) but he pulled through and he was fine.

[Hazelnut]

Our former ped was not exactly in favor of fully vaxing on schedule and acknowledged that several of them were completely unnecessary. Hib, however, is one that he strongly advised. If you are considering it, maybe asking in the selective/delayed forum would be helpful too.

[Marnica]

No I do not think it is necessary (but then again I don't think MOST of them are necessary)

I think menegitis is very rare. It becomes invasive in kids whose immune systems are not up to par. I went to college, my brother and between us know probably hundreds of people who all went to college and so in and this was before there was any menegitis vaccine and we never knew anyone who got menegitis. Just like my mom never heard of HIB when I asked her about it. (the vax was not around when I was a kid)

[fruitfulmomma]

We don't vax at all, so that is my opinion, but...

Meningitis is not exactly something your child will "catch". It is swelling of the brain stem or spinal cord. It can happen as the result of numerous different things - bacteria, virus, parasites, etc... The vaccines available only protect against very specific forms of the bacteria which can cause it. Are your children at risk for those specific forms? Also, according to the CDC, antibiotics have at least an 85% effectiveness rate against bacterial meningitis. http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/about/faq.html

[Hazelnut]

Would it be correct to say that many selective and delayed vaxers often choose to do Hib though? Not arguing that it's necessary, just wondering.

[fruitfulmomma]

Hib is not the appropriate vax for the OP's children because of their age. It is only recommended up to 5 years old unless special health circumstances exists.

[leaveit2beeker]

Are we realy talking about Hib, or the Menactra vaccine? (Are they the same??) I've seen an ad in my hotmail account for the Menactra vaccine for meningitis and I thought it was something ELSE they are trying to push on people now...Thanks in advance for clearing it up for me...

[fruitfulmomma]

Yes, menactra would be one of them recommended for this age group,
11- 18 per http://www.menactra.com/.

I saw another one but I don't remember it right now, not sure if it is for different strains or not.

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

Yes, menactra would be one of them recommended for this age group,
11- 18 per http://www.menactra.com/.

I saw another one but I don't remember it right now, not sure if it is for different strains or not.

prevnar?

[newmum35]

I went to public school K through 12th and never had a meningitis vaccine. I'm 37 and still kicking so are all my siblings, my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins (of which I probably have over 50 1st cousins) and none of us have had any meningitis vaccines (they weren't around then) and nobody has died from it in my family or that I'm aware of (no friends or acquaintances either). I never heard of anyone in my entire school having this. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I believe it must be pretty rare. When I looked into vaccines for my baby a few years ago, hib seemed pretty important. However, after researching about the issue of serotype replacement I learned although the vaccine was very effective in preventing deaths from this particular type of meningitis its done nothing to reduce overall mortality from meningitis (all strains). Other strains simply take over, becoming more of a problem than pre-vaccine era, and then they need to create yet another vaccine to take care of that problem. It is endless. I'm not even sure how many meningitis vaccines we have now, I lost count. We would have been better off leaving mother nature alone, in my opinion. Find other ways to support the immune system and make it more unlikely for hib bacteria (present in most people and never cause a problem) to invade deep in the body where they aren't supposed to be.

[listipton]

Like many pp's have stated, none of us (born before 1980 that is..) had this vax when we were growing up, and miraculously, we are all here today. That doesn't mean that meningitis isn't serious. When it happens, it can be very nasty and sadly, it can be fatal, but it isn't rampant. One thing that put it in perspective for me was when you read the fine print on one of the commercials it states that there are 1,000 cases of the strain of meningits that the vax is for per year. Out of the ENTIRE United States Population, that's a pretty low number.