Northwest Missouri State to require meningitis vaccine for fres

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Northwest Missouri State University will require freshman to be immunized against meningitis starting this fall.

The campus will be one of only a few in the nation to require incoming students to receive the meningococcal vaccine, though health care officials have long recommended that those in college dormitories should receive the shot.

"Because of its rareness, it's not typically required," said Dr. Jerry Wilmes, director of the university's health center. "But only recommending it gives us a fairly low response rate. People don't take it seriously. We want to go beyond education and awareness and take a more aggressive approach to get people's attention."

The decision comes five months after freshman John R. Davison died from a blood-borne bacterial infection that Wilmes said the vaccination could have prevented.