This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Peter, G. Articles by Halsey, N. A. Search for Related Content

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Academy not yet urging routine college meningococcal vaccine

The American College Health Association (ACHA), beginning in 1997, recommended consideration of meningococcal vaccination of college students. The ACHA has urged that all students be informed about the risks of meningococcal disease and the availability of a vaccine against it.

In encouraging college health services to take a more proactive role in alerting students and their parents about the dangers of meningococcal disease, the ACHA also recommends colleges and universities ensure students have access to the vaccine.

The AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases (COID) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) do not currently recommend routine vaccination of college students in the absence of an outbreak^1-3. While the number of outbreaks of meningococcal C disease in the United States has increased in the past decade⁴, the rate of disease remains highest in children 0-4 years of age. The rate in college students has been estimated to be only 2.6 times higher than the baseline rate in the 18- to 22-year-old age group of the general population⁵.