For Immediate Release
June 5, 2001

Vaccination Effort Announced For Alliance Area

High School Students, Staff To Be Immunized Friday For Meningococcal Disease

COLUMBUS - State Health Director J. Nick Baird, M.D. today announced the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) will provide vaccine to protect students, faculty and staff of six Alliance-area high schools against the most common types of meningococcal disease. The announcement follows confirmation of the disease in two West Branch High School students, and a third probable case in a student from Marlington.

Those to be vaccinated are students and staff from Marlington, Alliance, West Branch, Salem, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Sebring high schools. Grades nine through 12 will be immunized in all schools except Sebring, where grades seven through 12 will be vaccinated because all the students and staff are housed in one building.

The immunizations will be given out all day Friday at each of the high schools, except Sebring. Those students should go to West Branch for their vaccinations. If students of these high schools aren’t available Friday to receive their vaccinations, they should contact their local (city or county) health department. The ODH expects to immunize approximately 5,800 people.

"The Ohio Department of Health has determined that we should proceed with the immunization of these students," said Dr. Baird. "Vaccinating the students in all six of these schools is consistent with where we have actually seen disease, in high school students."

Dr. Baird said vaccinating more than just students in the two high schools where cases of the disease were reported (West Branch and Marlington) is a very conservative approach, and is consistent with previous actions taken by public health officials since the first two cases of meningococcal disease were reported.

Dr. Baird noted that the ODH decided not to wait on final test results of a third probable case of the disease because it is very likely the third case is probably a type covered by the vaccine. The first two cases were type C, and the vaccine covers four common types of meningococcal disease.

Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that usually results in cases of meningitis, meningococcemia or both. Symptoms include high fever, headache, stiff neck, disorientation, nausea, vomiting and sometimes a rash. The disease is fairly rare, with only about 150 cases reported in Ohio each year.

-30-

Media contacts: ODH Public Affairs (614) 644-8562

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.
 

Home / Search / Site Map

Last Updated: 6/6/01