PRINCETON: Turnout down for second meningitis shots

Fewer Princeton University students got the second dose of a type B meningitis vaccination the federal government said was critical to ensure maximum protection.

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   Fewer Princeton University students got the second dose of a type B meningitis vaccination the federal government said was critical to ensure maximum protection.
   The school said 4,404 people received the booster shot of the vaccine Bexsero during a four-day-clinic the college held on campus last week. The overall number, however, is 4,709 when the 305 others who got the booster in the middle of January are added to last week’s total.
   By comparison, 5,341 people got the first dose either in December or January, according to the school. A small number of people got the initial dose last week and will need to wait until a future clinic to get the booster, the college said.
   All undergraduates, graduate students who live in dorms and others with certain medical conditions were recommended to get the shot to combat a meningitis outbreak that had infected seven Princeton students and a campus visitor last year. The vaccine, unlicensed in the United States but allowed into the country for Princeton’s circumstance, was administered on a voluntary basis.
   ”We are gratified that many students and others in the recommended groups followed up and took their second dose,” said university spokesman Martin A. Mbugua on Friday. “It was a pretty good turnout.”
   ”I cannot speculate on why individuals did not receive the second dose this week,” he continued when asked about the disparity. “However, it is important to note that those who received the first dose in recent days would need to wait before they could receive the second dose.”
   The school is planning to have another clinic, “at a later time,” for the 130 people who got the first dose last week, Mr. Mbugua said.
   This was the second large-scale vaccine clinic at the school in a short span. In December, more than 5,000 people got the first dose of Bexsero. The school followed up in January for those who either missed the first clinic or wanted to get the second dose because they would be away from campus or were student athletes who did not want to interfere with their athletic calendar.
   Students could expect to have a sore arm after getting the shot, the government has said. But after December and January clinics, a “small number” of students had to be seen by health professionals for “adverse events within the range of what is expected,” Mr. Mbugua said. He did not elaborate.
   For his part, interim-Princeton Health Office Robert Hary cautioned Friday against assuming there will not be future meningitis cases at the school. Going forward, he said a combination of education and vigilance would be necessary.
   On one level, that means continuing education about safety precautions students need to take. On another, he continued, that means being diligent in following up cases where people have symptoms similar to meningitis.
   Mr. Mbugua said that for most of the past year, the school had an education campaign to share information with students on how to stay healthy and not spread disease. Those steps included emails, an information forum, presentations to student groups, posters, buttons, pens and table tents on common dining areas.
   The eight people who got sick last year all recovered. The University of California Santa Barbara faced a similar outbreak that led the government to allow Bexsero there as well.