Click here for the Texas Children's Hospital Video, Facing Meningitis
New Law Protects College Students from Deadly Disease
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Rashena Lindsay Flagg, 713.301.4577
Houston, TX (August 1, 2011) Texans were shocked and saddened by the untimely February 2011 death of Nicolis Williams - a student at Texas A&M University - to meningitis. This tragedy followed a 2009 case in which Jamie Schanbaum, a sophomore at University of Texas at Austin, survived meningitis but became a double amputee as a result of the devastating disease. These families joined forces to secure the passage of Senate Bill 1107 by Senator Wendy Davis (D - Fort Worth) and Representative Charlie Howard (R - Pearland) which was recently signed into law by Governor Perry. The “Jamie Schanbaum and Nicolis Williams Act” will require college students to be vaccinated against meningitis prior to school entry. Specifically, all college students under age 30 and attending class on a Texas campus are now required to present a physician-signed certificate showing they have been vaccinated against bacterial meningitis. This law takes effect January 1, 2012 in all institutions of higher learning in Texas. Texas now leads the country as the first state to require universal vaccination for college admission. Click here to read more.
Students and School Officials: New Meningitis Vaccine Requirements
Historically, school vaccination laws have played a key role in the prevention and control of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States. In 2009, the Texas Legislature passed the Jamie Schanbaum Act, requiring all students living in college dorms to be vaccinated against meningitis. Since its passage e, two key events have necessitated the need for expansion in the law. In February 2011, a Texas A&M University student, Nicolis Williams, passed away after contracting bacterial meningitis. Nicolis did not live in a college dormitory; hence, the existing law did not apply to him. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updated its meningococcal vaccination recommendations to include a booster dose at age 16 years to help protect individuals when the incidence of meningitis peaks, at 16-21 years—a time when many individuals enroll in college. Click here to read more.
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