Meningococcal Vaccination of Adolescents in the United States: Past Successes and Future Considerations.

ABSTRACT

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a rare but serious illness, and adolescents and young adults in the United States are at increased risk. Here, we discuss US IMD history and how successful disease prevention through routine vaccination against the most common disease-causing serogroups (A, B, C, W, and Y) can inform future recommendations. Before the introduction of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) vaccines, most US cases of IMD were caused by serogroups B, C, and Y. After recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for routine MenACWY vaccination of 11-12-year-olds in 2005, followed by a 2010 booster recommendation, MenCWY disease incidence declined dramatically, and vaccine coverage remains high. Two serogroup B (MenB) vaccines are licensed in the United States, but uptake is low compared with MenACWY vaccines, likely because Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends MenB vaccination subject to shared clinical decision-making rather than routinely for all adolescents. The proportion of adolescent IMD caused by MenB has now increased. Pentavalent vaccines that protect against serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y may provide an optimal strategy for improving vaccination rates to ultimately reduce MenB incidence while maintaining the historically low rates of IMD caused by serogroups A, C, W, and Y.