Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Thursday, August 16, 2007
Meningitis vaccinations for college students
While not all colleges and universities require students be vaccinated against meningitis, it is strongly encouraged, officials said Wednesday.
People living in close contact with one another, such as soldiers in a barracks or college students in dormitories, are most susceptible to contracting the bacterial infection, according to the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Brian Allen, principal investigator and director of the Student Health Center at the University of Wisconsin-
La Crosse, said meningitis vaccinations are available to students during freshman registration sessions.
Allen said UW-L used to vaccinate 300 to 400 freshmen annually for meningitis two years ago but has seen the number drop to about 100.
“More are going to their local physicians,” he said.
That was the case with Maxfield Wollam-Fisher, a 2007 Logan High School graduate who will attend Indiana University in Bloomington this fall.
“I’m current with all of my vaccinations,” Wollam-Fisher said. “My doctor recommended it quite some time ago.”
Ryan Stotts can be reached at (608) 791-8446 or ryan.stotts@lee.net.
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