As students and parents in Iowa look forward to this back-to-school season, they should be aware that beginning in January 2017, state law now requires all incoming seventh-grade students be vaccinated for meningitis. Students entering 12th grade are required to have two doses of the vaccine. This will be fully implemented at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.
Meningitis is a potentially deadly illness that spreads through respiratory drops, or saliva. The disease can strike healthy, young people, and it kills up to 10 percent of those who become ill, says Patricia Quinlisk, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. Since 2000, Iowa has seen 265 meningitis-related cases.
Getting vaccinations is an important way to reduce and ultimately eliminate the incidence of preventable diseases. The family medicine providers in the DMU Clinic stand ready to give you and your loved ones the vaccinations you need to stay healthy.
