Increasing calls to cover costly meningitis B vaccine

After hearing Dalhousie University student Maria Gaynor died last week of meningitis B, Maggie Archibald decided she wanted to be vaccinated against the potentially deadly strain of the disease.

“I kind of investigated it, spoke to my pharmacist, they did a quick assessment over the phone, and I was deemed eligible,” she says.

Archibald went to the pharmacy and got her first dose Wednesday, and then says she was surprised to learn how much she'd have to pay out of pocket.

“One dose cost me $172 dollars and I’ll need to get a second dose in about four weeks, so that will be over $340.”

According to her receipt, $148.70 was the cost of the actual vaccine dose, and $22.50 was the pharmacy’s injection fee.

She also discovered her private health insurance doesn't cover the expense.

Recognizing that price may be too steep for some young adults, Archibald has since written a letter to the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, asking the province to cover the cost.

“There's been no public education,” about the vaccines available to protect against meningitis B, says Dr. Ronald Gold.

As the medical advisor for the Meningitis Foundation of Canada, Gold says that's a problem.

While considered statistically rare, the Foundation says the B strain is responsible for nearly 60% of all meningitis cases in the country, or an average of 111 cases.

There are two approved meningitis B vaccines, but neither is covered under provincial immunization programs.

Nova Scotia’s routine immunization program only offers the meningococcal C vaccine at 12 months of age, followed by a quadrivalent vaccine for meningococcal A, C, W and Y in Grade 7.

Gold says when provincial governments don't fund a vaccine, they don't talk about it either.

“The bottom line is the ministries of health do not feel responsible for public education until a vaccine is in the public program. They shouldn't be denying knowledge that the vaccine is there,” he says.

Gold also says post-secondary students have an increased risk of meningococcal disease.

“The risk in the young adults going to university is higher in first-year university students than it is in the general population,” he says.

After a Saint Mary’s University student died in hospital of meningitis in November, the province told CTV News it funds the vaccine for people in high-risk categories, including close contacts of a known case.

But as for broader coverage, the Department of Health and Wellness said it's following the lead of Ottawa’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which hasn’t recommended provinces cover the shot.

“But that's not good enough,” says Kathryn Blain, the executive director of the foundation.

“Provinces have stepped outside of what NACI have advised in the past and done something that they feel is appropriate.”

The father of Kai Matthews, an Acadia University student who died of meningitis B last summer, agrees.

“Support students through a publicly funded MenB vaccination program,” says Norrie Matthews, “or maybe change the definition of what a high-risk individual is to include university students.”