Meningococcal Vaccine
| Question | Evidence-Based, Logic-Driven Response (Meningococcal Vaccines) |
|---|---|
| What is my child’s actual risk of dying from meningococcal disease, statistically? | - Meningococcal disease (all serogroups) is extremely rare in the U.S., with ~300 total cases/year across all ages. - Risk for healthy 11–22-year-olds (the target vaccine group): ~0.2 per 100,000, and declining. - Deaths: ~10–15/year in all U.S. children combined. Mostly in infants, not teens. - Risk is concentrated in immune-compromised, dormitory living, or outbreaks (e.g. military). |
| Have you lost an unvaccinated patient to meningococcal disease? Any patients harmed by the vaccine? | Most pediatricians have never seen a meningococcal case, let alone a death, especially not in adolescents. However, VAERS reports contain serious adverse events and deaths post-vaccine, including Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), seizures, and heart failure. |
| Odds of any side effect? Severe side effect? Compared to natural disease risk? | - Common: fever, headache, injection site pain (~30–50%). - Severe: GBS, seizures, syncope, myocarditis, anaphylaxis. - Serious event risk (per insert): ~0.1–0.3%. CDC claims GBS risk is "rare," but 2005 FDA warning on Menactra acknowledged a GBS signal. - For most healthy teens, vaccine risk may exceed actual disease risk. |
| Most severe adverse event you’ve seen? Most common? | - Common: fatigue, arm soreness, malaise. - Severe: Guillain-Barré (documented), autoimmune encephalitis, seizures, syncope with injury, death. Reports of sudden collapse and cardiac arrest post-MenACWY and MenB exist in VAERS and international databases. |
| Worst-case outcome from insert or VAERS? How many deaths? | - Inserts (Menactra, Bexsero, Trumenba) list: GBS, seizures, encephalitis, syncope with injury, death. - VAERS reports include dozens of adolescent deaths, usually within 72 hours, with cardiac arrest or unknown cause. - Most cases not acknowledged as causally linked, despite clear temporal proximity. |
| Recent VAERS reports? Severity? | 2022–2024 reports: syncope, GBS, myocarditis, seizures, fatal arrhythmias in teens. MenB vaccines have caused immune flare-ups, and Menactra continues to generate GBS reports, especially in male teens. |
| How many VAERS reports have you filed? Do you follow up? | Most doctors have filed zero VAERS reports, and few follow up after adolescent vaccines unless the patient returns with major issues. Symptoms like dizziness, joint pain, and fatigue are dismissed as “teen angst” or viral. |
| Will antibodies or prior exposure be tested before giving these vaccines? Why one-size-fits-all? | No testing is done. Vaccines are given based on age, not immunity or risk profile. Even if a teen has natural exposure or robust immunity, CDC recommends 2 doses for MenACWY and 2 for MenB. |
| Can you guarantee these vaccines won’t cause GBS, neurological, or autoimmune disease? | No. GBS has been acknowledged by FDA as a real risk, and multiple lawsuits have followed. MenB vaccines carry novel adjuvants (e.g. MF59 in Bexsero) that are neuroinflammatory in animal models. No long-term safety studies exist. |
| Were these vaccines tested against a true saline placebo? | No. Most trials used active comparators (another vaccine or adjuvant), not saline. Safety profile was based on short-term follow-up, often just 28 days. |
| Do you treat unvaccinated teens? Ever advised against these shots for low-risk kids? | Most pediatricians do not advise against them, even if teens have no known risk factors (e.g., not in dorms, no immune compromise). CDC recommendations override personalized risk/benefit logic. |
| If a teen collapses or becomes ill post-vaccine, how do you respond? | Most providers attribute it to anxiety, dehydration, or coincidence, not the vaccine. Adverse event causality is rarely pursued. Parents are often told “this is normal.” |
| Can we walk through the insert and ingredients? | - MenACWY (Menactra, MenQuadfi): diphtheria toxoid carrier protein, polysaccharides, saline, trace formaldehyde. - MenB (Bexsero, Trumenba): recombinant meningococcal proteins, MF59 adjuvant (Bexsero), aluminum, borate buffer. - Adverse events: GBS, hypersensitivity, seizures, encephalitis, myocarditis, death. |
| How do you distinguish between coincidence and causation? | Medical training generally teaches that post-vaccine adverse events are almost always coincidental, unless anaphylaxis occurs within minutes. Even with seizures, paralysis, or sudden death within days, causation is rarely acknowledged or reported. |
| Any long-term health studies comparing vaccinated vs. unvaccinated teens? | None. No studies have followed vaccinated vs. unvaccinated teens for autoimmunity, GBS, seizure disorders, or infertility. Manufacturers are not required to conduct these trials. |
| Are you concerned about how these vaccines were added to the schedule? | MenACWY was added in 2005; MenB followed in 2015–2016, despite extremely low disease incidence. Schedule additions have outpaced necessity, and population-level risk is nowhere near sufficient to warrant universal dosing in all healthy teens. |
| Have you observed post-vaccination fatigue, neurological issues, or menstrual disturbances? | Post-Meningococcal vaccine fatigue, POTS-like symptoms, dizziness, and dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system have all been reported by teens and their families. Many cases are misdiagnosed or dismissed as psychosomatic. |
| Would you acknowledge and report a serious adverse reaction? | Few doctors do. Even with a strong temporal relationship, most prefer to call the reaction a “coincidence.” This protects them from liability and avoids triggering vaccine hesitancy. |
| Are you under pressure to meet vaccine compliance for college-age children? | Yes. MenACWY is often required by colleges and universities, so most pediatricians administer it without discussion. Some also push MenB “just in case,” despite no mandate. |
| Do you understand how the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program works? | Meningococcal vaccine injuries (e.g., GBS, death, seizures) have been compensated under VICP. However, the process is slow and requires high-level documentation. Most families are unaware this option exists, and doctors almost never initiate claims or mention it. |