More than 5,200 people, the majority of them Princeton University undergraduates, received a meningitis type B vaccine during a four-day clinic last week at the college.
More than 5,200 people, the majority of them Princeton University undergraduates, received a meningitis type B vaccine during a four-day clinic last week at the college.
The mass vaccination, reaching a student population the size of some small New Jersey towns, was intended to check the outbreak of meningococcal disease that has affected seven Princeton undergraduates and a campus visitor since March. Princeton has a declared outbreak of the rare disease, which infects fewer than 1,000 people nationwide each year.
The federal government permitted using a vaccine, Bexsero, that is licensed in Europe, Australia and Canada but not in the United States.
The government recommended all undergraduates, graduate students who live in dorms and others with certain medical conditions get the vaccination, an overall population of roughly 5,800 people. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said at the start of the clinic that the goal was to vaccinate as many of them as possible.
University spokesman Martin A. Mbugua said Friday that the school was pleased with the “huge” turnout of 5,268, a figure representing 91 percent of the targeted groups voluntarily getting the vaccination.
He provided a breakdown that showed that, Monday, the first day of the clinic, was the busiest with 1,963 people, followed by 1,396 on Tuesday, 1,002 on Wednesday and 907 on Thursday. They came from across all the groups that the government had recommended get vaccinated, with undergraduates being the majority.
Asked if the total was enough, he directed the question to the CDC, which did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Mr. Mbugua said a “small number” of people who were vaccinated had to be seen by the University’s Health Services staff for a number of reasons. Without elaborating, he said those reasons fell in the expected range of “adverse events.”
The CDC said students could expect to feel a sore arm after getting the vaccination. The CDC has said it is critical that people get the second dose of the vaccine in February, although there are no dates yet for when those clinics will be.
Mr. Mbugua said Health Services would work with those people who were away for the first vaccination or will be away for the second one, such as students on study abroad.