Mass. lawmakers consider meningitis vaccine bill

The Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill which will require college students to either take the vaccine for meningococcal meningitis or sign a waiver that acknowledges the choice not to be vaccinated.

Dr. Margaret Higham, the medical director of Tufts Health Services, said that the Menomune vaccine "protects against two-thirds of the strands of the disease and has very few side effects. Tufts strongly recommends it, but does not require the vaccination."

After a recent study came out and revealed that college freshmen living in dormitories are at an increased risk for the disease, doctors began to hand out more information about the vaccine to families, Higham said.

"The situation in college is that people come from all over, live in very close quarters, hygiene may not be the greatest, they're pulling all-nighters, partying, studying, or whatever, and their immune system becomes compromised," she said.

So far, only Connecticut and New Jersey have passed laws which mandate the vaccination for anyone entering college. The only way out of that requirement is if the student claims legitimate religious or medical reasons. Other states such as Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia already require either the vaccination for all college students or the signing of a waiver saying that they have chosen not to take it.

The main problem with having the vaccination required by universities and states is from the cost-benefit perspective. According to Higham, most colleges go through many years without having a single student with meningitis. It is not a common illness, and mainly because of that, she says, it is not a top priority for this country. With a cost of around $85 per shot and the fact that it is not on some health insurance plans, the vaccine is not necessarily very high on everyone's list of health priorities.

"There are many other things that are far greater killers of more people that we could spend our money on and more effectively," Higham said. "I don't feel strongly that it needs to be required by law. That said, when my children go to college, they will get it because I want as much protection as they can get."

According to Mike Kepferle, one of five directors of the National Meningitis Association (NMA), one of the main problems is education. "It's important that the college population knows what it looks like. A situation where roommates think someone has the flu and they just leave him alone to get through it. They won't realize he is in real trouble until much too late," he said.

"Our whole purpose is to keep the awareness up. You get so much information when you or your child is entering college that you have to sort through what is important and worth your time," Kepferle said. "Often, colleges are not effective in presenting the information on meningitis in a way that will make people take it seriously."

The disease itself has two different types, viral and bacterial, of which there are many different strands. The viral form is less serious, more treatable, and its victims usually recover without any problems.

"The bacterial form is a much more severe illness," Higham said. "It actually has a death rate. It can have long term effects even with quick treatment -- that's why people worry about it."

Meningococcal meningitis is one of the bacterial types of meningitis and has symptoms that can include headaches, pain behind the eyes, stiff neck, vomiting or fever. This hard-to-detect disease can kill its victims within hours.

Most forms of the disease are very rare. Higham, during her four years at the University, has not seen a case of the virus at Tufts yet. "There was one time where we had a case of a blood infection by the bacteria that cause the disease, but that was it."

Senior Samantha Resnik remembers this scare which Higham refers to from her first year at Tufts. "I would have never thought about [having the vaccination] but my doctor brought it up. And then, during my freshman year, when there was a meningitis scare, I was very relieved to know that I already had gotten the shot," she said.

The disease affects about 3,000 people a year in the United States, and one-third of those cases turn out to be fatal. "We just need to educate people on how to prevent it and how to recognize it," Higam said.

The NMA is a non-profit organization which focuses on raising awareness about the disease and vaccine for adolescents and young adults, the age when the disease is most preventable. As a group, the NMA participates in pushing through legislation, testifying in hearings, running public service campaigns, and talking to the media about the disease.

The bill is pending in the Ways and Means Committee of the State Senate. Senate Bill 525 and 526 is sponsored by Senator Jack Hart, who was approached in 2003 by Nancy Springer, whose son lost his arms and legs from the disease.