FDA Approves Meningitis Vaccine for Emergency Distribution at Universities

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the meningitis vaccine Bexsero for emergency distribution at Princeton University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, after an outbreak infected nine people and resulted in one death. The vaccine targets a strain of meningococcal bacteria known as serogroup B and is aimed at preventing the disease in people ages 10 to 25. This approval marks a significant public health achievement, expanding the availability of vaccines in the US to cover a broader range of serogroups that cause meningococcal disease.

Key Takeaways:

• The FDA has approved the meningitis vaccine Bexsero for emergency distribution at Princeton University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
• The vaccine, manufactured by Novartis, targets a strain of meningococcal bacteria known as serogroup B in people ages 10 to 25.
• Prior to this approval, vaccines available in the US only covered four of the five main serogroups of bacteria that cause meningococcal disease.
• The approval of Bexsero marks a significant public health accomplishment toward preventing the life-threatening disease.
• The FDA had authorized Novartis to provide 30,000 doses of Bexsero for emergency distribution.
• The agency cleared a similar vaccine from Pfizer last October, expanding the availability of vaccines in the US to cover a broader range of serogroups.
• Meningitis is a rare but aggressive bacterial infection that begins with flu-like symptoms and can kill or cause serious disability within 24 hours of onset.
• A Drexel University student who died of meningitis last March had been in close contact with Princeton students about a week before getting sick.
• Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, noted that the approval of these vaccines represents a major public health accomplishment.