State law requires teens get vaccinated

Local politicians and doctors held a press conference outside Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow on Sept. 1 to raise awareness about a new state law requiring school-aged children to be vaccinated against meningococcal disease.

“It’s not a new vaccine, it’s a vaccine that’s been part of the recommended childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule,” said Dr. David Fagan, chairman of the pediatric department at Nassau University Medical Center.

The law, which took effect Sept. 1, mandates that all children in grades seven through 12 (in public or private schools) get vaccinated against the bacterial disease which can lead to inflammation of the lining covering the brain and spinal cord.

“It can cause the kind of infection that can start out very innocently,” he said. “You think you have a low-grade fever or stuffy nose upper-respiratory type of thing, and in a matter of hours — and I’m not exaggerating — you can be dead from it.”

Fagan said adolescents are most vulnerable to the bacteria, which is why the government has stepped in to require proof of vaccination. The list of mandates for this particular age group, he said, is not a long one — the new requirement is one of two.

The disease is rare, but strikes healthy young people without warning. Infections can be treated with antibiotics, but even with treatment, about 10 to 15 percent of cases are fatal, according to the New York State Department of Health. Another 10 to 20 percent of those diagnosed will survive, but suffer lifelong disabilities such as hearing loss, loss of arms or legs or brain damage. Symptoms of the disease include high fever, vomiting, a stiff neck and a rash.

Before attending school students must receive one dose of meningococcal vaccine before. If a child was vaccinated as a sixth grader, then another dose is not required until 12th grade. Most students entering 12th grade got their first dose when they were younger and are now due for their second dose, or “booster.”

For questions about the meningococcal vaccine requirement, contact the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Immunization's School Assessment and Compliance Unit at (518) 474-1944 or at OSAS@health.ny.gov.