Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (Systemic)

Brand Names : Menomune

Before Receiving This Vaccine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For meningococcal vaccine, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to meningococcal vaccine. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as food or preservatives (especially thimerosal). This vaccine contains thimerosal.

Pregnancy - Meningococcal vaccine has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in humans.

Breast-feeding - Meningococcal vaccine has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children - In general the use of meningococcal vaccine is restricted to persons 2 years of age and older; however, in some cases children as young as 3 months of age may be vaccinated. This vaccine has been tested in older children and, in effective doses, has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems than it does in adults.

Older adults - Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults. Although there is no specific information comparing use of this vaccine in the elderly with use in other age groups, this vaccine is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in older people than it does in younger adults.

Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your health care professional if you are using any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of meningococcal vaccine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Severe illness with fever - The symptoms of the condition may be confused with the possible side effects of the vaccine