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 Meningococcal disease is a serious bacterial infection that can lead
to bloodstream infections and severe swelling in the brain and
spinal cord. About 10 percent to 15 percent of people who catch it
die, and many survivors have lasting impairments like neurological
deficits, loss of limbs or digits and hearing loss.
Under U.S. recommendations for routine childhood vaccinations,
children are supposed to get two doses of the so-called MenACWY
vaccine that covers four strains of meningococcal bacteria: one dose
at age 11 or 12 and a booster at age 16. But less than half of teens
have received both the primary and booster doses by age 17,
researchers note in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
In the current study, researchers examined vaccination data
collected on more than 1 million youth with either private health
insurance or coverage through Medicaid, the U.S. health program for
the poor.
Overall, younger kids were more likely than older kids to have
received at least one dose of the MenACWY vaccine. Among kids aged
10.5 to 13 years with private coverage, 72 percent had received at
least one dose, as had 59 percent of kids this age insured by
Medicaid, the study found. In comparison, just 49 percent of teens
aged 15.5 to 18 years with private insurance and 32 percent with
Medicaid got at least one vaccine dose.
"Multiple vaccinations are recommended at ages 11 to 12, providing a
distinct and focused opportunity for kids to receive the recommended
vaccinations at a single visit," said lead study author Samantha
Kurosky of RTI Health Solutions in Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina.
"Health care visits centered around preventive care and with more
traditional vaccinating providers (e.g., pediatricians) become fewer
and far between during older adolescence, which may result in fewer
potential opportunities to vaccinate," Kurosky said by email.
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GlaxoSmithKline, maker of a MenACWY vaccine, hired RTI to do the
study and was involved in all stages of the study including the data
analysis and publication of the results.
Pediatricians administered most of the vaccinations in the study,
and young people who saw other types of providers were less likely
to get the vaccine than teens who saw pediatricians.
Both older and younger teens most often received the MenACWY vaccine
at preventive checkups and in conjunction with a flu shot or other
recommended vaccinations. This was less common for older teens,
nearly one-third of whom got the vaccine at visits when they didn't
receive other shots.
One limitation of the study is that it looked at vaccination from
2011 to 2015, and it's possible the results don't reflect current
vaccination rates. Researchers also didn't evaluate whether teens
received both vaccine doses - the primary shot and the booster shot
- that are needed for optimal protection.
Teens who get their first dose on time may be more likely to get
fully vaccinated than youth who don't get that first shot until
they're older, noted Dr. Michael Brady of Nationwide Children's
Hospital and the Ohio State University in Columbus, who wasn't
involved in the study.
"If they would have been routinely getting their annual primary care
visit, they would have received the first dose earlier," Brady said
by email. "However, by getting the first vaccine later, they have
defined themselves as someone who does not routinely get their
annual primary care visit."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2JI5YoJ Journal of Adolescent Health, online
May 15, 2019.
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