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Health services offer meningitis vaccinations |
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Thursday, 20 September 2007 |
 Emily R. Purrell, a junior psychology major, checks in at the Appalachian Health Services desk while a line of students sign in for immunization shots on Tuesday morning. Alisha Park
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by NIKKI ROBERTI
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
It’s amazing how fast panic can spread. An unnamed female student in Bowie Residence Hall exhibited flu-like symptoms and was tested for meningitis.
Freshman theater arts major, Bowie hall resident, Elizabeth M. Anderson said although nothing was done officially, the news of the student spread within a day on their floor by word of mouth.
“All I could think about when [my roommate] mentioned that the girl might have meningitis was how glad I was that I had the shot,” she said.
The Bowie resident was found meningitis-free.
But if an outbreak occurred, many students would not be as confident as
Anderson who was relieved that she had her Meningococcal vaccination,
Menactra.
The Appalachian surveyed 200 students, selected at random, this week regarding the vaccination.
Eighty-four percent of freshman and 72 percent of sophomores recorded
to be vaccinated. However, a little more than half of juniors and
seniors at 56 percent had similar results, leaving 44 percent of
upperclassmen unprotected.
Menactra is not a required vaccine in North Carolina.
However, Appalachian’s Health Services physician Dr. Patricia A Geiger
said Appalachian State strongly recommends students receive the vaccine.
Geiger said 10 percent of cases involving people diagnosed with meningitis are fatal.
The National Meningitis Association claims that 20 percent of those who
survive suffer long-term affects like brain damage, hearing loss, or
even limb amputations.
Freshman political science major and resident of Bowie, Kimberly D. Canady, was in contact with the girl who was sick.
Unlike Anderson, she was not vaccinated.
Before the panic in Bowie, Canady was not worried about not having the shot, she said.
“The first thing that went through my mind was not having the vaccination,” she said.
Geiger thinks cost is the reason why many students are not vaccinated.
At Student Health Services, Menectra costs $85 compared to Watauga County Health Department’s price of $138.
However, there is still a way to receive Menactra while avoiding high costs.
If a student who is 18 or younger has an insurance policy that does not
cover the vaccine, or if they don’t have insurance at all, then the
vaccine is free, said Sandy Haigler, a registered nurse for the Watauga
County Health Department.
Still, the vaccine is not “100 percent effective,” said Geiger.
Menactra is only 75 percent effective and does not protect against all
forms of meningitis, like Type B, which constitutes 25 percent of those
diagnosed, said Geiger.
Geiger encourages students to consider purchasing the shot for their health.
“It’s a choice,” said Geiger. “I believe that people, if given the
proper information, should be able to make their own choices.”
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