I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Friday, May 27, 2005

CDC Recommends Wide Use of Meningitis Vaccine

From the New York Times:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended yesterday wider use of a new meningitis vaccine for adolescents and college freshmen.

The vaccine, sold as Menactra by Sanofi Pasteur, protects against infections caused by meningococcal bacteria. Such infections include a form of meningitis that can be rapidly fatal.

For the first time, the diseases center, a federal agency in Atlanta, recommended that all 11- and 12-year-olds be routinely immunized against meningococcal disease.

The agency also recommended using Menactra to protect high school freshmen or children younger than 15, whichever comes earlier.

In a third recommendation, the agency recommended that all college freshmen living in dormitories be immunized against meningococcal disease. The new recommendation strengthened an earlier one that said freshmen should consider such protection.

The CDC press release is here.

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