- Approximately 600 – 1,000 people contract meningococcal disease in the U.S. each year.*
- Of those who get meningococcal disease 10-15 percent die.
- Among those who survive, approximately 1 in 5 live with permanent disabilities, such as brain damage, hearing loss, loss of kidney function or limb amputations.
- 21 percent of all meningococcal disease cases occur in preteens, teens and young adults ages 11–24.
- 1 in 5 U.S. teens have not yet received their first dose of the meningococcal vaccination against serogroups A, C, W and Y and remain unprotected.
- Less than one-third of first dose recipients have received the recommended booster dose.
- Many teens have not received the meningococcal serogroup B vaccine since it was just permissively recommended by CDC in 2015.
*Historically, the number of meningococcal disease cases went up and down over time. Now, the number of cases is at the lowest it has ever been. Health officials believe this is due, in part, to the increased use of meningococcal vaccines.
CDC. Factsheet. Help Protect Your Teen Against Meningococcal Disease. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/features/meningococcal/. Accessed 11/12/14.
CDC. National and State Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — United States, 2013. MMWR 2014; 63(29):625-633. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6329a4.htm. Accessed 11/12/2014.