In a move aimed at protecting more young Mainers from contracting and spreading a deadly bacterial disease, the state will officially mandate a vaccine in the next school year to prevent meningococcal disease.
As of May 10, Maine students must receive the meningococcal vaccine before entering 7th grade — typically around age 11 — followed by a second dose when they are 16 or before they enter their senior year of high school, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced on April 18. Students who have not received a first dose by age 16 will need two doses before starting 12th grade.
Until now, the vaccine has been recommended, but not required, for entry into school.
Spokeswoman Emily Spencer of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said in an email on Monday that the new requirement brings Maine into alignment with longstanding federal recommendations.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Maine students required to get meningitis vaccine for next school year,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Meg Haskell, please follow this link to the BDN online.
