FDA Approves Meningitis Vaccine for Princeton Outbreak

Bexsero will be available to students on campus

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Federal health officials have approved a meningitis vaccine previously unavailable in the United States to contain an outbreak at Princeton University.

Bexsero, a vaccine approved in Australia and Europe, fights off strain B of the disease. Several students at Princeton have been diagnosed with the strain, which is typically uncommon in the U.S., Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Reuters.

The Food and Drug Administration agreed to expedite Bexsero’s approval in order to offer it as an optional vaccine to students on campus. Last week school officials reported a seventh case of the meningitis outbreak, which began in March.

University trustees convened to discuss the outbreak this weekend, but it is unclear when the vaccine will be available.

[Reuters]