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Law Lets Students Opt Out of Meningitis Vaccine

Posted on: Saturday, 25 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Susan Simpson, The Daily Oklahoman

Mar. 25--A 2004 law requiring meningitis vaccinations for college freshmen living on campus hasn't been widely successful.

That's because students and their families can opt out of the vaccination, which can cost more than $100.

At Oklahoma State University, where a student who lived off-campus recently contracted meningitis, only 1,073 -- or about one-third of incoming freshmen who lived on campus -- were vaccinated against meningitis.

Technically known as meningococcal disease, it is a rare but sometimes fatal illness that can cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord lining as a result of infection.

OSU junior Timber Laine Eaton of Tuttle is hospitalized at Integris Baptist Medical Center, where she was listed Friday in critical condition. She was a freshman before the law passed.

"The law allows people to make a personal choice," OSU Health Services Director Steve Rogers said. "It doesn't happen much, although we know it is very serious when it does."

The legislation, which pharmaceutical companies pushed, requires that first-time dormitory students be provided with information about the risks of meningitis and the benefits of being inoculated before signing a certificate of exemption.

"The rule was applied because there is a slightly elevated risk for those living in close quarters," said Don Blose, chief of immunization services for the state Health Department. The vaccine protects against four of five known strains of meningitis.

"As parents, you always have to weigh the risks versus the benefits," he said.

Eaton developed symptoms after returning from a spring break trip to Acapulco, Mexico, but doctors do not know whether that is where she contracted the disease. The Centers for Disease Control does not recommend the vaccine for travelers to Mexico.

Eighteen friends and acquaintances of the 21-year-old are receiving antibiotics as a precaution. Eaton did not live in the dorms, and she was a sophomore when the law regarding freshmen was enacted.

The case has prompted students who had no or little contact with Eaton to get vaccinated, Rogers said. Thursday, 17 students were vaccinated at the campus clinic.

"Unfortunately, it takes something like this to bring the message home," he said.

Vaccinations are available through campus clinics, county health departments and private physicians. At the Oklahoma County Health Department, the vaccination is free for children ages 18 and under, but $96 for adults.

The CDC said about 10 percent of meningitis cases are fatal, but the disease can lead to hearing loss, neurologic disability or loss of limbs.

Oklahoma averages 24 cases and four deaths a year.

Four years ago, a student visiting the University of Oklahoma campus was diagnosed with the disease. The student recovered, and no other OU students got meningitis.

University spokesman Catherine Bishop said she couldn't readily find out how many freshman dorm residents received or opted out of the vaccination.

"Since our students haven't come into close contact with the OSU students, we haven't seen a reaction to that situation at Goddard Health Center," she said. "However, students may have been recently immunized elsewhere."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Daily Oklahoman

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Source: The Daily Oklahoman

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