Meningitis Vaccine โ€˜Do-Over' Suggested for Some SDSU Students

Weeks after students were vaccinated, the pharmacy suggests the vaccine was not stored at an optimal temperature.

Approximately 350 San Diego State University students will need to be vaccinated again in an outbreak of meningococcal disease after officials learned the initial round of vaccines may not be effective.

Students who received the vaccine from Walgreens on Oct. 5 and Oct 8. are being notified they will need to be re-vaccinated, a university spokesperson said.

"We recently became aware that the vaccine temperature at the time of administration was not optimal," a Walgreens spokesperson confirmed to NBC 7. "While we believe there is no associated safety risk, in order to ensure that recipients received full efficacy of the vaccine, we are in the process of contacting the students to offer re-vaccinations."

Walgreens assisted the county in vaccinating students in early October after it was confirmed that at least three SDSU students contracted the bacterial disease.

"Students who received a MenB vaccination through the various on-campus clinics by the County of San Diego and Kaiser Permanente have not been affected and do not need to be re-vaccinated," SDSU spokesperson Cory Marshall said.

Bacterial meningitis is spread by sharing items such as cigarettes or drinking glasses or through intimate contact such as kissing. 

The bacteria are not airborne, officials said, so they do not spread like germs associated with the common cold or the flu.

Those who feel they may have been exposed and suffer from a sudden onset of symptoms including fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and/or vomiting, should go to the hospital, health officials said.

Learn more about the available meningococcal vaccines through the CDC's website.

Or you can talk with someone by calling SDSU Student Health Services 8:30 am - 4:30 pm at 619-594-4325 or by calling San Diego County Public Health Servicesโ€™ Epidemiology Division at 619-692-8499.

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