Due to the latest federal recommendations, colleges have been mounting a widening attack on meningococcal meningitis this fall with health advisories, educational campaigns and vaccination clinics.
The latest studies suggest that only a few meningitis deaths might be avoided even if all students were vaccinated. Some health authorities wonder if they could do better for students by working against more common college scourges like drunken driving or sexually transmitted diseases.
Milton Weinstein, a risk expert at the Harvard School of Public Health has chosen to let his own 18 year old son go to college without the vaccine.
A spokesperson for the company making the vaccine says it is 90 percent effective against 70 percent of college cases. For other cases, it has no effect.
The reason behind some colleges requiring a meningitis vaccine may be due to the more than $90 million in malpractice claims made against colleges between 1985 and 1997.
Are the colleges looking for the best health and welfare of their students or themselves?
planetc1.com-news @ 08:50 | Article ID: 943368606
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