Meningitis Vaccine???

[susiestar]

Has anyone gotten this for their child??? I have seen ads for it, and it seems like a good thing, esp having had a friend in the dorm in college who got it and had to drop out for an entire year to recover. He was told that his case was mild - so I would hate to see a severe case!!!

Are schools requiring this now? We haven't seen/heard anything, but that isn't unusual - thank you is ten after all, so some of his papers just don't seem to make it home lol!!!

 

[Mom2oddson]

It was a requirement for easy child's college. He couldn't be in the dorm without it.

 

[slsh]

Wee will be getting it before college, but I'm holding off right now because I made the mistake of reading potential complications, LOL. Ditto with- the cervical cancer vaccine for Diva. Hoping a couple more years will provide better (i.e. more reassuring) data for me. So far, the meningitis vaccine isn't required for our schools.

 

[okmeme]

They are not required in OK schools until college, but they are being highly recommended because we have had some bad cases of young children with meningitis in OK in the past year, or so I was told. Lots of my parents have decided to go ahead with the vaccination. I did not research this myself, but I did take the word of our local county health dept. who have been pretty reliable in the past.

 

[AnnieO]

8 years ago, when my friends' child J was about 3 weeks old, his mom called me in a panic because he was running 104-degree fever. I went with her to Children's. Viral meningitis. Vaccine will only work for viral - and then only certain strains. No vaccine for bacterial, though antibiotics will work there.

J just turned 8 last week and is a big kid like his daddy and healthy as he can be. So - it's BAD. Really BAD. But he's OK now.

in my opinion - wait a bit till you know more about it. BM got Onyxx 2 of the 3 Gardasil vaccinations at age 11 but did not tell us, so #3 didn't happen. Still iffy about that one.

 

[PatriotsGirl]

As some one who has had cancer twice from complications of HPV, difficult child did get the Gardasil. I never want her to go through what I did.

 

[KTMom91]

Miss KT had to have the meningitis vaccine before moving into the dorms at college.

 

[TeDo]

Both of my 12 year olds have gotten it. Our pediatrician recommended it since they are old enough now to do sports and other activities that increase their likelihood of contracting it. They have had no reactions or problems with it. Glad it's one less thing I have to worry about.

 

[flutterby]

difficult child has gotten it, but it's not required for our schools. However, a lot of colleges are requiring it now.

 

[DammitJanet]

Well, I know Jamie got it going into the Marines because they vaccinate you for everything. None of the others did. I will get it for obvious reasons now. I also get the pneumococal and flu shots yearly because of my brush with death.

 

[susiestar]

I am wary because jess had a pretty bad reaction to Gardasil, the hpv vaccine. She was sick as a dog for almost a week starting just after she got the shot. The docs tried to tell me that it wasn't the shot, but everything I read about side effects that mean you should not get the rest of the series described exactly what she had. Even on the maker's website they listed her exact side effects as reasons to not continue - in the teeny print part, of course.

Gardasil is a rather interesting thing. It is proven to have the MOST effectiveness if it is given before a girl is 12. it is still effective afterwards, but before age 12 it is supposed to make the biggest impact. I was all for this shot, but not when Jess got so sick after the first dose.

 

[Josie]

Susie, my daughter's doctor recommends that my chronically ill daughter not get immunized for anything right now. He said he has seen "bad things" happen to his patients when they do. She is low risk for meningitis anyway.

I am not getting either one of my daughter's the HPV vaccine. I am a little anti-vax and the fact that it was new was enough to keep me away.

I am not going to get my older daughter vaccinated against meningitis unless she needs it for school.