meningococcal meningitis (neisseria meningitidis) vaccine

7/28/2019 Meningococcal Meningitis (Neisseria Meningitidis) Vaccine

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(c) The serious adverse reactions (death, permanent disability and life-threatening events) caused by the

vaccine must be significantly rarer than those caused by the disease before the vaccine approval and the

other vaccination-associated costs (e.g., emergency room visits, hospitalizations and extended

hospitalizations) must be sufficiently low so that there population costs are some small fraction of the

population administration costs and , collectively, are much less then the costs associated with the

disease in the absence of any effective vaccine.

All of these points are consistently ignored when mandates such as this are implemented to a broadpopulation.

4. Most Students Are Already Naturally Protected Without Vaccination.

According to a peer-review study in The New England Journal of Medicine, Colonization induces an

immunologic response to N. Meningitides (as do certain organism in the enteric flora that have cross-

reacting antigens), so that by young adulthood, the majority of people in the United States have

measurable antibody to the pathogenic serogroups of N. Meningitides (A, B, C, Y, and W-135) (Gardner,

2006).

We need to ask are we trading the natural herd immunity our population has achieved for inferior vaccine

acquired immunity that does not last.

5. The Meningococcal Vaccination Program Could Make Some Bacterial Strains More Deadly.

Like with excessive antibiotic use, we just might be creating a nightmare scenario for meningococcal

organisms to mutate into more lethal vaccine resistant bugs that will have all of us highly susceptible to

invasive meningococcal infection and wishing we had taken the precautionary principle much more

seriously.

6. Meningitis Is Not Casually Contagious

According to the CDC; Fortunately, none of the bacteria that cause meningitis are as contagious as things

like the common cold or the flu. Also, the bacteria are not spread by casual contact of by simply breathing

the air where a person with meningitis has been (CDC, n.d.).

7. Current Meningitis Vaccines Are Not Proven Effective

According to a peer-review study in The New England Journal of Medicine, A major limitation of these

vaccines is that neither provides immunity against serogroup B, which is responsible for approximately

one third of cases of meningococcal disease (Gardner, 2006).

This study was written prior to the creation of the Menveo vaccine which also does not prevent serogroup

B infections. Please refer to the manufactures product insert; MENVEO dose not prevent N. Meningitidis

serogroup B infections (MENVEO, 2010).

According to the Menomune vaccine package insert; No studies have been conducted to evaluate the

efficacy of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines against disease due to serogroups Y and

W-135 (Menomune, 1981).

Further in April a Wisconsin-Madision senior died of bacterial meningitis and was documented as

receiving the booster vaccine shortly before (Herzog, 2013).

8. Questionable Duration Of Protection

According to the Menveo vaccine package insert; The duration of protection following immunization is

not known (MENVEO, 2010).


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9. The Vaccine Manufactures Advise Pregnant Women Caution and Discouragement When Considering

Injection Of Their Products.

So prior to administration of the Meningitis vaccine all childbearing females should be required to

undergo lab confirmed pregnancy tests thereby increasing costs.

10. Safety Question Raised By Current Meningitis Vaccines

Acknowledged serious side effects for all three current meningitis vaccines carry warning of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a serious and devastating neurological disease.

According to the passive reporting system being our governments Vaccine Adverse-Event Reporting

System (VAERS) there have been in a five year period these associated adverse events with one

meningococcal vaccine (MENACTRA);

20 Deaths

49 Permanent disability

98 Life Threatening Injuries

4,190 Not Serious Injuries

307 Hospitalizations

19 Extended Hospitalizations

2,412 Emergency Room Visits

The CDC states that in January 14, 2005, through September 30, 2011, VAERS received 8,592 reports

involving receipt of MenACWY-D in the United States; 89.0% reports involved persons aged 11 through 19

years (CDC, 2013).

Balance that with the disease effects.

According to the CDC; During 2005-2011, an estimated 800-1,200 cases of meningococcal diseaseoccurred annually in the United States, representing an incidence of 0.3 cases per 100,000

population (CDC, 2013).

11. Incomplete Safety Testing

All three current meningitis vaccines have not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential.

Two (Menactra and Menomune) of the three have not been evaluated for impairment of fertility. The third

current meningitis vaccine, Menveo is not tested regarding the impairment of male fertility according to

the manufacturer; MENVEO has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential, or for

impairment of male fertility (MENVEO, 2010).

12. No Liability or Accountability For Vaccine Manufacturers

February 2011, The Supreme Court took away the peoples right to sue the pharmaceutical industry or

medical professionals for vaccine injury. Justice Sotomayer filed a dissenting opinion in which Ginsburg,

J. joined. Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of the case (Bruesewitz v. Wyeth,

2011).

For the first time in history product manufacturers are not accountable for product failure. Further it is

these manufactures that are producing all the safety analysis for said products without any oversight from

any independent scientific organization.


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In closing the most prudent plan is to educate the parents and let them choose based on all available data

what is best for their children. I strongly oppose the Minnesota Department of Healths decision to add

the meningococcal meningitis (Neisseria Meningitidis) to the recommended pediatric vaccination

schedule.

Sincerely yours,

Heather White

References

Bruesewitz v. Wyeth. (2011). SCOTUSblog. Retrieved from http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/

bruesewitz-v-wyeth/

CDC. (n.d.). Bacterial Meningitis. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/bacterial.html

CDC. (2013). Prevention and control of meningococcal disease: recommendations of the advisory

committee on immunization practices (ACIP). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/

mmwrhtml/rr6202a1.htm

Gardner, P. (2006). Prevention of Meningococcal Disease. N Engl J Med. Retrieved from https://

secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdf

Herzog, K. (2013). UW-Madison student who died of meningitis had vaccine booster. JSOnline. Retrieved

from http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/202752191.html

Menomune. (1981). Sanofi Pasteur. Retrieved from https://www.vaccineshoppe.com/image.cfm?

doc_id=10447&image_type=product_pdf

MENVEO. (2010). Highlights of Prescribing Information. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/

BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM201349.pdf

Minnesota Department of Health. (n.d.). Incidence of Invasive Neisseria meningitidis Disease, Minnesota,

2000-2010. Retrieved from http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/dtopics/invbacterial/nmen.pdf
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/202752191.htmlhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdfhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdfhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdfhttp://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/202752191.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/202752191.htmlhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdfhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdfhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdfhttps://secure.muhealth.org/~ed/students/articles/NEJM_355_p1466.pdf

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