"You don't want to get a false sense of security," Lardner said.
The ACHA cites two CDC studies indicating increased risk of meningitis among first-year students living in dormitories, but many people believe the new policy was caused primarily by media pressure. This fall, ABC ran a profile on college meningitis cases in its newsmagazine "20/20" that some health professionals said they credit with raising parental awareness of the disease.
"It's in the press. It's in the media. It's on '20/20.' It's on '60 Minutes.' You have to respond to that," Lardner said.
But other critics charged that the money and attention given to meningitis should instead be focused on drug and alcohol abuse, which result in far more deaths on college campuses.
All this attention and the ACHA and CDC policies have led to different reactions on various college campuses.
Although UHS has complied with the CDC's recommendation, Harvard is doing little to encourage students to get the vaccination.
Last fall, UHS distributed a brochure on meningitis to all dorms and Houses. The brochure includes information on the effectiveness of the vaccine and on what students should consider when deciding whether to be vaccinated.
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