No one knows your child better than you do.

Meningitis is also one of the best headline-grabbing diseases. The new (January 2001) recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics to vaccinate all college students living in dorms with meningococcal vaccine will cause many parents to bring their soon-to-be graduates to the doctor because the disease rate is “almost five times greater in dorm students than in the general population.” Meningococcus is one of many organisms which can cause meningitis.

Assuming that this vaccination is covered by insurance companies the cost to each individual family is not a large concern. A much bigger concern might be the possible adverse effects on the vaccine recipients. Most studies have shown a high rate of minor problems such as swelling at the injection site and very infrequent kidney problems have followed the vaccine with no proven causal relationship. An interesting note not included in most stories about this vaccine: Because the disease is so rare, there have never been clinical trials showing that it actually works. The antibodies are measurable in the blood stream and efficacy is assumed and probable but has never been proven.

If your child will be living in a dormitory, conventional medical wisdom and official medical recommendations favor giving this vaccine. My minority point of view is to avoid it.