Recent College Cases Reinforce Need for Prevention

My son Evan was a pitcher for his college baseball team and in excellent health. Cherice was studying hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. Caitlin was on the Dean’s list and the captain of her school’s dance team.

When you send your child off to college their future is full of hope and infinite possibilities. Meningococcal disease shouldn’t be one of them, but unfortunately young adults and college students are at increased risk for bacterial meningitis.

In recent weeks, there have been at least five meningococcal disease cases confirmed at college campuses across the United States, with an additional case suspected. At Providence College in Rhode Island, two students were diagnosed with serogroup B meningitis. At the University of Oregon, three students are reported to have meningococcemia; so far one case has been confirmed as serogroup B. This weekend, a student at Yale University in Connecticut was hospitalized for a suspected case of meningitis. We continue to hope for a quick recovery for each of these students.

Many of our M.O.M.s and T.E.A.M. members did not have the opportunity to protect their children or themselves from this terrible disease, but now you do.

We encourage all parents and college students to make sure they are up-to-date with the currently recommended vaccines, including the meningococcal booster before they leave for campus. They should also speak to their healthcare provider about the new vaccines to protect against serogroup B.

For our part, NMA will continue pushing forward until all children are protected from this disease and no family has to go through what our families have.