Ethical Considerations Of Meningoccal Vaccines

My cousin recently became a mother, and has expressed with me her concerns to vaccinate her child. Her main concern is that vaccines have been linked to autism and other health problems. There are multiple articles circulating the internet alerting parents of possible side effects of vaccinations; some even claiming to have scientific proof to support their claims.

Vaccination was first introduced globally for small pox and later on extended to other communicable diseases which are now known as vaccine preventable disease. Vaccination is beneficial both for individuals and community. This bring us to the ethical dilemma - Vaccination of a healthy child with the intention of protecting both the individual child and the community at the same time exposing the child to the theoretical risk of exposure to disease products whether live, attenuated or killed. There was a time when people never questioned the government or their physicians. Now because of more public awareness and accessibility to medical information, they are questioning the safety aspects of vaccines.

Africa has the highest incidence of meningococcal disease, tuberculosis, and malaria because of overcrowding in many villages. There is an area in sub-Saharan Africa called the Meningitis Belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia with over 20,000 reported cases and 2,000 deaths every year (Healthgrades editorial staff, 2015). During the dry season in Africa, from December through June, meningitis epidemics occur with the three major areas infected being Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Chad. The most recent outbreak of the meningococcal disease reported in the United States occurred as meningitis in the dorms at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Princeton University in New Jersey in December of 2013 (Doheny, 2013). When the outbreak occurred at these two universities it was caused from serotype B of the disease and resulted in one death. Since the current meningococcal vaccine does not cover the serotype B bacteria the FDA allowed the use of a special vaccine from New Zealand to treat the outbreaks (Burrell, 2015). One in five US teens have not had their first recommended dose of meningococcal vaccine and for those who have had the first dose of the vaccine,

Controversy concerning the risks of vaccinations will always exist. As is the nature of a preventative intervention, it is difficult to rationalize giving a completely healthy child an injection that is known to have varying degrees of sides affects5. Additionally, these injections are to provide immunity to children for diseases that have an extremely low risk of circulating within a population. Since these vaccines have been able to protect so many individuals from experiencing these dangerous infections, most parents do not even have personal experiences regarding the impact of these diseases. As such, many parents do not see the vaccine-preventable disease as a threat to their child. This often causes parents to not fully understand the risk their child has for contracting a disease and the subsequent danger of a vaccine-preventable disease infection verses the potential side effect of a vaccine which is normally only mild to moderate discomfort for their child15.

After reading this news, I think it is important to raise public awareness in taking actions to protect people from these diseases. As the season is changing, there will be more illnesses come along. I was surprised

In addition, the CDC recommends certain vaccinations for teens and college students that attend school as a means to curtail the spread of highly communicable diseases such as meningitis.

I believe that ethics is the moral compass we use to make decisions for our patient in providing them with safe and quality healthcare. It makes us ask the questions of right and wrong as we advocate for them. The minute we become a nurse, we are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas. Some may be minute in scale but others are on the grand scale, such as end of life issues. It is very important for the nurse to understand their own beliefs and values when we enter into our work environment. There are times when our own opinion is not relevant to the circumstances of the patient and we need to keep them to ourselves. I might have a different view about why some people do or do not get the annual influenza vaccination. Yet there are time

The term “herd immunity” became a common phrase as the debate surrounding mandating vaccines continues to grow. The modern vaccination debate often appears to focus on the effectiveness of vaccines as many media sources affirmed or denounced a potential correlation between autism and vaccines. Although these stories about autism and vaccines became headlines, the history of mandating vaccines addresses the authority of the government to distinguish between individual concerns and the common good. The current now ultimately focuses on examining the authority of the government to distinguish between individual concerns and the common good rather than the effectiveness of vaccines.

On the Google News website USA Today released an article written by Oren Fliegelman and Mary Beth Marklien entitled "Princeton U. to Give Students Meningitis B Vaccine." Princeton University has been in the process of making the meningitis B vaccine available to students and staff members. Princeton has began this process after a meningitis out break, which infected six students and campus visitors. The first of the out breaks occurred in march. According to an e-mail sent out by campus officials, the vaccine should be available in December for the first dose, and the second dose available in February. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is strongly encouraging all Princeton students, undergraduate and graduate, living in campus housing to receive a vaccine that protects against meningitis B. Also, University employees are urged to receive the vaccine, especially if they have sickle cell disease of other medical conditions that may make them more susceptible to the disease. Meningococcal, more commonly know as meningitis, is fairly rare. Meningitis can be spread through kissing, coughing, sharing drinking glasses, and related actions. Physician James Turner states, "Seven cases is a big deal. If my child was at Princeton, I'd tell him to get vaccinated. I'd take it very seriously." According to freshman Phillip Powers, people are worried, but are not taking precautions. Freshman Warren Bein, who expects to get the vaccine states "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Lafayette College policy requires all the freshmen living in college dormitories to receive vaccination against meningococcal disease. Since the meningitis immunization is not an establish practice in my home country Georgia, Lafayette administration proposed to conduct the vaccination in the United States, in its affiliated health center Bailey’s. Like most international students, I received meningitis B vaccination on the second day of my arrival on campus.

Although it has been from a different risk group, the 7th case of meningitis has recently been discovered in Illinois. It is extremely contagious and spreads through close contact. The disease is most often spread through respiratory and throat secretions -mucus and saliva. Activities such as kissing or living in close proximity can place someone at risk for getting meningitis.

I totally agree with you, meningitis b vaccine should be available for all America population the vaccine could possibly protect people against manganism b but we have to know that there different types b bacteria that cause illness and it’s tough to produce a universal vaccine that would cover strains circulating in different parts of the world. The vaccine that is being used in Europe and Australia is about 70% effective and I think that it could protect against meningitis.

Relating to the Audience: As college students, we cross paths with hundreds of people every day. With winter coming up, and illnesses running rampant, we are all highly susceptible to catching diseases such as the flu. With vaccinations, we can prevent getting these illnesses.

Throughout history in the United States, various epidemics have had their adverse effects amongst the population. Yet, those who fall particularly vulnerable to such epidemics are those whom are often young and have yet to build proper immunity to foreign invaders. One of the most feared diseases for children and young adults today is Bacterial Meningitis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Meningitis can be formed through the inflammation of the meninges in an individual’s brain (2014). Although there are numerous causes for Meningitis, Bacterial Meningitis is the most severe and often deadly strain in which greatly effects children and young adults (CDC, 2014). Furthermore, the prevalence of meningitis continues to

important, and it is advisable to always wash hands after use in restrooms or before eating, as this will reduce the chance of contracting the disease. (Hirsch 22). Monitoring social activities is also another way of preventing the spread of meningitis. A study has shown a specific correlation between the number of meningococcal disease and college students who rave and go clubbing. These close contact areas are the breeding grounds for all different diseases, and meningococcal disease is one of the more prominent causes of illness in these college students (Pollard 2). With education from schools and public health officials, the public would be more aware of how to prevent a meningococcal disease epidemic from starting, and would help to reduce the number of deaths a year within a large community. Chemoprophylaxis, or prevention through use of drugs and food supplements, is a possibility, but usually it is best to use the tips above because drugs and such do not guarantee complete protection.