Join Health Freedom Idaho in telling our Senators and Representatives on the Health and Welfare committees to vote AGAINST an additional meningitis vaccine for Idaho seniors. Remember Your legislators are not experts on every issue. They need the assistance of citizens who have experience in each category, to review these rules and provide input. Otherwise, they will be forced to rely primarily on legislative advisors (lobbyist) to provide answers to proposed rule questions.
I urge you to vote against the rule change 16-0215-1802 which is an additional meningitis vaccine for our high school seniors.
The Health Department has not shown that mandating an additional MenACWY vaccine for more than 30,000 students annually will decrease the already low rates of 3 cases of meningitis in the state. This costly vaccine does not protect our students in college, as they promoting. The manufacturers state that the vaccine is ineffective against the most prevalent serotype B and 92% of college students who get vaccinated with MenACWY got meningitis on campus.
IMPORTANT POINTS (choose 2 – 3)
Disease Rare in U.S.
Invasive meningococcal infections are very rare in the U.S.
2016 there were 372 cases.
31 of cases aged 16 -23 of the bacterial strains covered by the MenACWY vaccine.
This bacterial infection affects individuals with certain genetic, biological and environmental risk factors. 24
Disease Rare in Idaho.
Incidence in Idaho is extremely low and almost nonexistent among children aged 10 to 19.
Immunization department stated in 2017 there is 1 male aged 19 who infected and an individual over 60.
Idaho has an average of 3 cases annually for all age groups for the past twelve years. 9
Disease Not Easily Transmitted in Public Setting.
The disease is not spread through casual contact or breathing the air where a person has been but requires sustained, close personal contact, such as kissing or sharing a toothbrush. 7
Vaccine Does Not Contain All Strains.
The four-strain vaccine MenACWY does not contain serotype B that causes about 60 percent of invasive infections. 1
The MenACWY vaccine insert states specifically that the vaccine does not cover the serotype B found in most college outbreaks.
The vaccine does not protect against the more prevalent bacteria found on college campuses.
92% of college students contracting meningitis were vaccinated with the MenACWY vaccine. 24
Mandate Is Expensive.
Idaho Immunization Department lists the cost of Menactra under the CDC contract is $91.81 per dose. The cost of Menveo is $73.83 per dose. 25 A portion of this vaccine mandate will be paid by the taxpayers under the Idaho Immunization Program (IIP)
Voluntary use of MenACWY is increasing in Idaho.
Parents and doctors already have a discussion about the MenACWY vaccine with 90.5% VOLUNTARILY vaccinating without government interference. CDC shows a steady annual voluntary increase of about 5% annually in Idaho for the MenACWY vaccine.
2017 reports reflect 90.5% received a MenACWY vaccine. Up from 86.5% the previous year. 26
Vaccine Injuries Occur.
Brain and immune system disorders have been reported following receipt of MenACWY, including Guillain Barre Syndrome, and a new study has linked the vaccine with Bell’s Palsy when it is given simultaneously with other vaccines.
Meningococcal organisms are naturally present in the nasal passages of humans.
The vast majority of children and adults colonize the bacteria without symptoms and then they are protected from invasive meningococcal infections. Between 10 and 20 percent of people at any given time are actively colonizing meningococcal organisms, which boosts innate immunity to invasive infection. 2 3
A tiny percentage of individuals are more vulnerable to invasive meningococcal infections.
Individuals with certain genotypes or immune deficiencies are at 5,000 to 7,000 times greater risk for developing invasive infections that lead to sepsis, loss of limbs and death. 4 5 Other risk factors include active or passive smoking; a recent respiratory infection; crowded living conditions; alcohol use; and an underlying chronic illness, such as HIV infection. 6
Invasive meningococcal disease is not easily transmitted in a public setting.
An individual must be susceptible to invasive meningococcal infection and have regular, close personal contact with a person who is colonizing meningococcal organisms, such as exchange of saliva through kissing or sharing a toothbrush. 7
Vaccine Immunity Wanes
In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended in 2005 that all 11-year old children get a dose of the four-strain meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY). 10 About 60 percent of invasive meningococcal infections are caused by serotype B, but MenACWY only contains serotypes A, C, Y, and W-135. 11 12
In 2011, the CDC recommended a MenACWY booster dose at age 16 after discovering that MenACWY immunity wanes within 2 to 5 years. 13
MenACWY is one of the more expensive pediatric vaccines on the U.S. market, costing a $92 per shot in a private pediatrician’s office, not including administration fees, and up to $74 per shot through the federally subsidized Vaccines for Children program. 14
Based on outstanding questions about duration of immunity and cost-effectiveness, in 2015 the CDC did not recommend the newly licensed MenB vaccine for use by all adolescents. 15 By 2015, voluntary use of MenACWY among Idaho teens had increased to 6 percent with increases reflected annual over the past several years. 26
Vaccine manufacturers describe reported vaccine reactions and injuries and deaths following MenACWY administration.
The list includes irritability, abnormal crying, fever, drowsiness, fatigue, injection site pain and swelling, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, joint pain, sudden loss of consciousness (syncope), brain inflammation, convulsions, Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) and death.18 A study published in January 2017 linked an increased risk of Bell’s Palsy for 11-12-year-olds given MenACWY simultaneously with other vaccines. 19 In 2007, the National Vaccine Information Center reported an increase in serious adverse event reports to VAERS, including GBS, when meningococcal vaccine was given simultaneously with HPV vaccine to young girls. 20
More than 3,843 MenACWY reactions have been reported to the government.
As of September 21, 2018, there have been 3843 reports of MCV4 adverse events made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), including 73 deaths. 21 It is widely recognized that only between one and 10 percent of vaccine adverse events are ever reported to VAERS. 22 23
References:
1 CDC. Epidemiology and Prevention of Infectious Diseases, 13th Edition. April 2015.
2 Bille E, Ure R et al. Association of Bacteriophage with Meningococcal Disease in Young Adults. PLOS One 2008.
3 Manchanda V. Gupta S., Bhalla P. Meningococcal Disease: History, Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Prevention. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology 2006.
4 Brouwer MC, van der Beek D. Genetics in Meningococcal Disease: One Step Beyond. Clin Infect Dis 2009.
5 FDA. Vaccines & Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. FDA Briefing Document: Use of Serum Bactericidal Antibody As an Immunological Correlate for Demonstration of Effectiveness of Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccines (Serogroup A, C, Y, W-135) Administered to Children Less than 2 Years of Age. April 6, 2011. Pages 3-4.
6 Harrison LH. Epidemiological Profile of Meningococcal Disease in the U.S. Clin Infect Dis 2010.
7 CDC. Meningitis Questions & Answers: Causes and Transmission. June 11, 2015.
8 CDC. Meningococcal Disease: Technical and Clinical Information. June 14, 2016.
9 Idaho Infectious Disease Reporting see page 41
http://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Health/Epidemiology/IdahoDiseaseSummary/tabid/202/Default.aspx
10 CDC. Revised Recommendations of the ACIP to Vaccinate All Persons Aged 11 to 18 Years with Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine. MMWR Aug. 10, 2007.
11 Granoff DM. Review of Meningococcal Group B Vaccines. Clin Infect Dis 2010.
12 CDC. Meningococcal Disease: Surveillance. Aug. 5, 2015.
13 AAP. Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine Policy Update: Booster Dose Recommendations. Pediatrics 2011; 128(6).
14 Idaho Immunization Program Manager Rafe Hewett, MHS correspondence dated Sept 18, 2018.
15 CDC. Use of Serogroup B Meningococcal Vaccines in Adolescents and Young Adults: Recommendations of ACIP, 2015. Table 2. MMWR Oct. 23, 2015.
16 CDC. National, Regional, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — United States, 2015. MENACWY: 1 dose coverage in Idaho. MMWR Sept 2018.
17 IAC. Meningococcal State Mandates for Elementary and Secondary Schools. May 12, 2016. 18 Sanofi Pasteur, Inc. Menactra Vaccine Prescribing Information. Sept. 16, 2016.
19 Tseng HF, Sy LS et al. Safety of Quadrivalent Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine in 11 to 21 Year Olds. Pediatrics January 2017.
20 Debold V, Downey C, Fisher BL. Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Safety: Analysis of VAERS Reports (Part III). NVIC Aug. 15, 2007.
21 MedAlerts. Search the VAERS Database. Vaccine Product: MEN(Meningococcal Polysaccharide (Groups A, C, Y and W-135 Combined). Data through Sept 21, 2018.
22 Braun M. Vaccine adverse event reporting system (VAERS): usefulness and limitations. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
23 Rosenthal S, Chen R. The reporting sensitivities of two passive surveillance systems for vaccine adverse events. Am J Public Health 1995.
24 https://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/downloads/NCIRD-EMS-Report.pdf
25 Idaho Immunization Program Manager Rafe Hewett, MHS https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Health/IdahoImmunizationProgram/tabid/3767/Default.aspx
26 CDC https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/teenvaxview/data-reports/menacwy/trend/index.html
