HWN Suggests

How My Vaccinated Daughter Died From Meningitis and What I’m Doing About It

Now that I am more active in the vaccine advocacy arena, it concerns me that many healthcare providers are still unfamiliar with the availability of the MenB vaccine.  Since my daughter died, two MenB vaccines have been licensed and approved by the FDA in late 2014 and early 2015.  

At the June 2015 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the following vaccine recommendation was made:

"A serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine series may be administered to adolescents and young adults 16 through 23 years of age to provide short term protection against most strains of serogroup B meningococcal disease. The preferred…

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Articles of Interest

For Meningitis B Vaccines, Climbing Revenue, and Plenty of Skepticism

Small college outbreaks four years ago of meningitis B — an extremely rare variation of the dangerous infection — have set off a lucrative new business: persuading parents that pricey vaccines are a loving investment for their college-bound children.

Clearing up meningitis vaccine confusion

The new MenB vaccine has the potential to fill the last remaining gap in vaccines to prevent all of the major causes of bacterial meningitis outside of the newborn period. About 10 per cent to 14 per cent of people who contract the disease will die despite appropriate treatment. Up to 20 per cent of survivors may suffer from devastating, life-long disabilities such as neurological disabilities, hearing loss or limb loss.

Doctors Should Be Talking To Teens And Parents About MenB Vaccination

“We want teens, young adults and their parents to know that as of 2014, MenB vaccination is available, and we want to make to make sure they know to ask their healthcare providers to administer it to them,” Wukovits said. “It’s critical that they know that MenB vaccination is an additional vaccine. We want to make sure other parents do not have the false sense of security that we had.”

Effectiveness of a Meningococcal Group B Vaccine (4CMenB) in Children

Complete vaccination with 4CMenB was shown to be effective in preventing invasive disease due to serogroup B and non–serogroup B meningococci in Spanish children younger than 5 years of age. This evidence may be useful in making decisions about the inclusion of this vaccine in the immunization program of countries where invasive meningococcal disease in children is problematic and its prevention a priority.

I Want Parents to Know About the Additional Meningococcal Vaccine That Could Have Saved My Daughter

As a mother and a nurse, I was vigilant in having both of my children up-to-date on all recommended vaccinations, including meningococcal vaccination. I was under the common misconception, as many parents are, that the meningococcal vaccine that my daughter received would fully protect her from meningococcal disease, when in fact, it didn’t protect her against meningitis B.

Jane Wells: Meningitis B vaccine—still learning to deal with uncertainty

So the most important message could be: even if your child has been immunised, they could still get meningitis. This is a difficult message at a time when we are trying to increase vaccine uptake and seem to have finally put the MMR disaster behind us, but there is a wider principle of engaging the public in grown-up discussions about uncertainty.

Meningitis B Shatters Dreams

The mission of The Kimberly Coffey Foundation is to educate the public and healthcare professionals about bacterial meningitis (meningococcal disease) including the symptoms of the disease and the importance of prevention through vaccination.

Meningitis B Vaccine: Is It For You?

In the U.S., we've done a great job of preventing meningitis. Three of the most important bacteria that cause the disease now have effective vaccines.

Meningococcal B vaccine and the vision of a meningitis free world

With the availability of the existing glyconjugates, the protein-based multi-component MenB vaccine and the potential pentavalent combination aiming at offering protection to human populations against the five major serogroups (A, B, C, Y, and W-135), the world might reach the milestone of being for the first time ever capable of preventing the majority of meningococcal meningitis, adding a new chapter in medical history.

More reason to use Meningococcal B vaccine – it could also cut the Clap

Gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection also known as the Clap, has become a superbug. Some strains of the bacterium that cause gonorrhoea are now resistant to all available antibiotics. With no new drugs on the near horizon, the disease is in desperate need of a vaccine. Our research, published in the Lancet medical journal today, shows that protection against gonorrhoea could come from an unexpected source - a vaccine against meningococcal group B disease.

New Push for Meningitis B Vaccines on College Campuses

As the fall semester gets under way, some U.S. colleges and universities are offering students new vaccines against a bug responsible for recent campus outbreaks of a rare but life-threatening form of meningitis. Academic institutions are taking a range of approaches, from simply making the shots available at student health centers to anyone who is interested, to holding vaccine clinics on campus that students are required to attend.

The Long Road to an Effective Vaccine for Meningococcus Group B (MenB)

Recent attempts to create a universal MenB vaccine have been thwarted by the variability of the surface proteins of MenB and by the similarity of the MenB capsule to human glycoproteins.

What if giving the meningitis B vaccine to every child did more harm than good?

As horrifying as it is to think that any child might go needlessly unprotected, expanding vaccination to older children – who are at much smaller risk – could make such treatments so expensive that they might never be introduced at all.

What is meningitis B – and why don’t older children get the vaccine?

Until recently, there was no vaccine against MenB. But in September 2015, the UK was the first country in the world to introduce a new MenB vaccine – Bexsero, produced by GlaxoSmithKline – into the routine NHS childhood immunisation programme. It involves three injections, given to babies at age two months, four months and 12 months of age, which are expected to protect children until around the age of four. However, there are lots of other bacteria and viruses which can cause meningitis, and some strains of MenB are not covered by the vaccine, so this vaccine would not be able to wipe out meningitis completely.

Why Did Meningitis B Vaccine Take So Long to Develop?

Meningitis B vaccines “have been difficult to develop due to structural similarities of its capsular polysaccharide with human foetal neural cell adhesions modules, rendering it poorly immunogenic.” There was also the concern for inducing antoimmunity. It has taken more than 40 years to develop these effective vaccines.

Why Is Meningitis Still Causing Deaths on U.S. College Campuses?

There's an effective vaccine, but 12 states still don't require it for incoming students.

Resources

Kimberly Coffey Foundation

The Kimberly Coffey Foundation provides education to the public and health care professionals about meningococcal disease and advocates for meningococcal vaccination. Our goal is that no other family will endure the loss of a child or have a loved one experience the devastating effects of meningococcal disease. Zero lives lost or affected by this disease is the number we are striving for.

The Emily Stillman Foundation

When the Foundation was originally founded, it had a twofold Mission, which included the both organ/tissue donation as well as vaccine advocacy. In 2016 a third Mission was adopted to enable The Foundation to advocate globally for all health and wellness issues.

American Society for Meningitis Prevention

The American Society for Meningitis Prevention (ASMP) works to empower all people to take action to prevent meningococcal meningitis.