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Tragically, this fast-acting disease kills 10-15% of those infected.
Meningococcal disease, or bacterial meningitis, is a severe infection of the protective membranes ( meninges ) of the brain and spinal cord that affects thousands of people each year.
Additional complications can include bloodstream infections ( septicemia ) that can lead to:
- Brain damage.
- Learning problems.
- Deafness.
- Loss of limbs due to amputation.
Health agencies explain that about 1 in 10 people may have Neisseria meningitides bacteria in the back of their throats but have no disease symptoms. These people are considered carriers. Think twice before kissing a stranger.
Neisseria meningitidis bacteria are divided into five strains called A, B, C, W, and Y. Parents who respectfully follow the CDC vaccination regulations inject their 11-12-year-old children with a vaccine to protect them from strains A, C, W, and Y.
For the year 2013, in January, the European Union (EU) approved Bexsero, the world’s first vaccination for the B strain of Neisseria meningitides, created by the pharmaceutical giant Novartis.
Between March and November 2013, three months after the vaccine’s approval, there were outbreaks of the disease caused by the B.
And by December 2013, American universities were demanding that this new Bexsero vaccine be available to their students, even though it was not licensed in the US.
Therefore, the students received their vaccinations. Now, fast forward to January 2015, the FDA not only approved Bexsero but recommended it for most people between the ages of 10 and 25.
Even some American doctors believed this approval was too fast and perhaps not secure.
An infectious disease specialist explained that the newest vaccines on the market lack ample evidence of safety and efficacy compared to vaccines that have been administered to tens of millions of people for decades.
Pfizer, another mega pharmaceutical company, was also busy creating and marketing Trumenba, an additional vaccine for this B strain of meningitis. It was reviewed, according to the FDA, “and approved under the FDA’s Advanced Therapy designation and Priority Review programs.”
This expedited approval for Trumenba took place in October 2014, before the FDA approval of Bexsero.
But the Trumenba broadened its market share and said it would be suitable for ages 10-25. And when Bexsero was approved in January 2015, Novartis added that 10-25-year-old demographic.
So now there are two vaccines for this B strain of meningitis. In the US, both were allowed to be used before licensing. Currently, in the UK, these same vaccines are being marketed for babies.
You can get pre-filled syringes in the UK prepped and ready for your two-month-old baby.
But what about the ingredients?
According to experts, the Bexsero vaccine contains 1.5 mg of aluminum, a massive 1,475 mcg more than the FDA’s “safe” recommended amount.
Another interesting fact is that one of the ingredients (which both vaccines contain) is E.coli, which was not listed by the manufacturer.
In a speech, an expert on meningococcal diseases explained why there was no vaccine for the Neisseria meningitis B strain in the United States.
The expert’s explanation was as follows:
“We don’t have a vaccine in the US licensed to protect against serogroup B.”
“And that’s because there have been challenges in making the serogroup B vaccine because the capsule of the target serogroup looks like an antigen that we actually have in the body and therefore is not immunogenic. So we have to find other targets. For vaccination”.
Is this one of the reasons you used genetically modified substances in the B strain vaccine?
It was asked whether there is a strain B vaccine available in the UK; why not in the US?
Part of the answer was:
“The reason this vaccine is not licensed in the United States because the company made a decision, in part, due to the low incidence of meningococcal disease B in the United States at this time, to go ahead with the license. ».
There is nothing like an outbreak to advance FDA approval.
