Meningococcal vaccination rates low among patients with complement component deficiencies

Meningococcal vaccination rates are low among eligible patients with complement component deficiencies, according to a study of U.S. data. Researchers used a nationwide database to assess uptake of vaccines against meningococcal serogroups A, C, W and Y (MenACWY) and meningococcal B (MenB) in the years after the vaccines were recommended for patients with complement component deficiencies (CDs). “Recommendations to immunize complement-deficient persons against invasive meningococcal disease — something for which they are at greatly increased risk — have been in place for decades, yet heretofore there were no data on uptake,” Gary S. Marshall, MD, professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Norton Children’s and the University of Louisville School of Medicine, told Healio. “We were curious to know if the recommendations were being followed.” For MenB in particular, Marshall said they wondered if the recommendation to routinely vaccinate high-risk patients — made by the CDC’s Advisory...