A federal panel on Thursday recommended that two new meningitis vaccines only be used for rare outbreaks, resisting tearful pleas to give it routinely to teens and college students.
The vaccines target B strain meningococcal disease, which comes on like the flu at first but can rapidly develop into dangerous meningitis or blood infections. But it is very rare and students already get another meningitis vaccine that protects against four more common strains.
So the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices declined to recommend routine shots for all adolescents and college students. The panel is to consider that later this year. It only recommended the vaccine be used in emergencies or for people at unusually high risk.
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Vaccine panel: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/
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