Thousands of freshmen and new students flocking to Texas colleges for the start of classes next month must first get the vaccine against often fatal bacterial meningitis before they'll be allowed to move into campus dorms.
The state law requiring the vaccine for all new students who live on campus, including those at private universities, went into effect on Jan. 1, but the fall semester will bring the first large wave of new students to campuses since the law went into effect. Texas is among about a dozen states that now require the vaccine.
Previous attempts to require the vaccine failed until 2009 when state lawmakers were lobbied by the family of University of Texas student Jamie Schanbaum, who became infected as a sophomore in November 2008. Schanbaum had to have both legs amputated below her knees and lost most of her fingers.
"It is a dangerous infection," said Dr. Donald Murphrey, an infectious disease specialist at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. "We know kids (who get sick) are going to be in the intensive care unit. They may lose fingers and toes. They may lose limbs. They may have strokes. They may have brain damage."
Experts say that the close quarters of dorm life put college students at a higher risk than most of catching the disease, which spreads through coughing, sneezing, sharing drinks or utensils, kissing and other close contact. Texas students will be required to provide their shot record 10 days before they can move into dorms.