In wake of campus meningitis cases, bill would require vaccine

Vaccination News Home Page                                            subscribe Vaccination NewsLetter

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=68781

Posted Thursday, January 30 at 8:23 PM

 
In wake of campus meningitis cases, bill would require vaccine

ATLANTA - College students would be required to take meningitis vaccines under a bill proposed Thursday in the Georgia House.

The bill was introduced a week after a Georgia Southern University student, freshman Esli Saint-Louis, was hospitalized for bacterial meningitis, an infection of spinal cord fluid and the fluid surrounding the brain that can be caused by bacteria or by a virus.

GSU started offering $90 vaccines to students Thursday.

The proposed bill would require college students to pay for the vaccines themselves, just as they are currently responsible for getting shots against measles, mumps and rubella before enrolling. Doctors say college students are at special risk for contagious diseases because they live in close quarters.

Two years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that college students should be informed about bacterial meningitis and its vaccination. The CDC did not say vaccinations should be required.

Under the House bill, students would be told of risks associated with the vaccine and could refuse the shot if they chose. The bill's sponsor, Representative Joe Wilkinson, said the measure was requested by parents of college students who battled the disease.

The Republican legislator invited parents to a hearing about meningitis.

Wilkinson said, ``There wasn't enough Kleenex in the room,'' He described the disease as cruel and vicious and almost impossible to diagnose until it's too late.
 

Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


 

Vaccination News Home Page

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.