Meningitis Prevention Policy Hub

Why This Matters?

Although meningococcal vaccines are not specifically on the agenda for this meeting, the childhood/adolescent immunization schedule, adjuvants, and many life-saving vaccines are. Decisions made now, especially regarding vaccine schedules, set precedents that will affect meningitis vaccine policy in the future.

We encourage you to adapt these key messages and make them personal:

1. Shared Goal: We all want the same thing: healthy children, safe families, and strong communities. No one wants to see a loved one suffer from a vaccine-preventable illness, and we all value the freedom to gather, learn, and work without fear of disease. 
    

2. Personal Connection: I have firsthand experience with the importance of accessible vaccination policies. [Insert personal story about meningitis or another vaccine-preventable disease.] Vaccines must remain accessible without unnecessary prescriptions or costs, and recommendations should always reflect the best available evidence, so other families don’t have to face what I went through. 
    

3. Decisions Have Consequences: The practical impact of ACIP’s decisions cannot be overstated. Their decisions determine whether insurance covers vaccines and whether families can easily obtain them. Furthermore, ACIP must maintain clarity and consistency to prevent gaps in protection.

   • Restrictive language (e.g., shared clinical decision-making (SCDM) for Meningitis B vaccination) historically creates widespread confusion, lower vaccination rates, and inconsistent protection.

   • Removing or weakening recommendations can instantly trigger loss of insurance coverage, increased out-of-pocket costs, and reduced pharmacy access.

   • Populations with lower access, such as rural families, young adults, and underinsured communities, are the first to lose protection.

4. Vaccines Are Safe: The long-standing safety record of routinely used adjuvants (such as aluminum salts) must be effectively communicated to the public to counter misinformation.
    

   • Aluminum salts have been used safely as an adjuvant in vaccines for over 90 years and are among the most extensively studied adjuvants worldwide. Adjuvants are used to enhance the immune response.
      

   • The agenda’s focus on adjuvants presents a critical opportunity to reinforce that aluminum-containing adjuvants — including those used in some meningococcal vaccines — are safe, well-studied, and essential to preventing severe diseases.

5. Prevention Empowers: Vaccines are not about limiting choice. They give families the power to protect their loved ones, ease the burden on our healthcare system, and keep communities strong.