ACIP provides recommendations on meningococcal vaccination

(HealthDay)—Routine vaccination with a quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) is recommended for adolescents aged 11 to 12 years with a booster at age 16 years, according to a report published in the Sept. 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Sarah A. Mbaeyi, M.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues present the recommendations from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for meningococcal vaccine use in the United States.

According to the report, routine vaccination is recommended with a quadrivalent MenACWY for adolescents aged 11 or 12 years, with a booster at 16 years of age. Routine vaccination with MenACWY is also recommended for persons aged ≥2 months at increased risk for meningococcal disease caused by serogroups A, C, W, or Y, including those with persistent complement component deficiencies, those receiving a complement inhibitor, those with anatomic or functional asplenia, those with HIV infection, unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated college freshmen living in dormitories, and military recruits. MenACWY booster doses are recommended for previously vaccinated persons who become or remain at increased risk. Routine use of the serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine series is recommended among those aged ≥10 years at increased risk for serogroup B meningococcal disease.

"Although meningococcal disease incidence in the United States is low and decreasing, continued surveillance and evaluations are needed to assess the safety and effectiveness of MenB vaccines," the authors write.

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