Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- The government is investigating five reports of teenagers who came down with a serious neurological disorder after receiving a new vaccine against meningitis. Doctors don't yet know whether the cases of Guillain Barre syndrome are related to the shot, called Menactra, or are coincidence, the Food and Drug Administration emphasized Friday. The government recommends the vaccine for adolescents and college freshmen living in dormitories, and FDA said there was no reason to change that advice - but it alerted the public as a precaution. Menactra protects against rare but devastating cases of bacterial meningitis. The shot is particularly...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended yesterday wider use of a new meningitis vaccine for adolescents and college freshmen. The vaccine, sold as Menactra by Sanofi Pasteur, protects against infections caused by meningococcal bacteria. Such infections include a form of meningitis that can be rapidly fatal. For the first time, the diseases center, a federal agency in Atlanta, recommended that all 11- and 12-year-olds be routinely immunized against meningococcal disease. The agency also recommended using Menactra to protect high school freshmen or children younger than 15, whichever comes earlier.