Saint John mother wants routine meningitis B vaccines after nearly losing daughter
Only Nova Scotia, P.E.I. cover meningitis B vaccines for post-secondary students
After almost losing her daughter to meningitis last year, Julie Stewart has a warning for other parents in New Brunswick — unless you booked a separate vaccine and paid about $300 for it, your child is not vaccinated against meningitis B.
"She got very sick, very quickly. Please educate yourself," said Stewart.
She said parents are often under the mistaken belief that their children have been immunized against it as part of the province's routine immunization schedule. Children are immunized against several other strains, but not B.
Meningitis B is a strain of invasive meningococcal disease, which can be fatal for up to 10 per cent of people who get it. It can also have long-lasting effects for those who survive.
Post-secondary students are particularly vulnerable because of the nature of their close living quarters, which is why Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island began targeted immunization programs.
'Am I going to die?'
It all started on June 30, 2023, when Lindsay Stewart felt like she was catching a cold. She was sore all over and started vomiting. By that evening, she developed a very bad headache.
Julie said her daughter's jaw hurt so badly she couldn't eat anything — and anything she did manage to swallow didn't stay down, including Tylenol.
She resisted any suggestion of going to the hospital, but when there was no improvement on the second day, she relented.
"My head was still killing me. There was no relief. Neither of us had slept all night. And around 5:30 in the morning, my mom said, 'No, Lindsay, we have to go to the hospital.'"
By 10 a.m., bacterial meningitis was strongly suspected and by noon, a cerebrospinal fluid analysis confirmed it.
"I've seen spinal fluid in my career and it should be clear, like water, and hers looked like skim milk," said Julie, who works in the hospital laboratory.
She said the results were categorized as "critically abnormal." By that time, Lindsay was even experiencing partial hearing loss.
"And so at one point, she had woken up and she said, 'Mom, don't people die from meningitis?' And I said, 'Yeah, they can.' And she said, 'Am I going to die?'"
As soon as she knew her daughter was going to be OK, Julie started asking questions, because even Lindsay thought she had been vaccinated.
"We all thought that I was covered for meningitis. And so it was really surprising to hear that I wasn't covered for meningitis B, which is actually the most dangerous one."
Follow Nova Scotia, P.E.I., says mom
In Nova Scotia, anyone 25 and under entering post-secondary studies for the first time and who will be living in a dormitory or other residence is eligible, as are "first-time military recruits who will be living in a congregate setting such as a military barrack."
Since the program started in May 2023, there have been 5,670 vaccines given to people aged 17 to 25 years, according to Amanda Silliker, a communications adviser with the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness.
In P.E.I., free shots are now available to all students attending a post-secondary school — whether out of province or on the Island — and for military recruits. A government spokesperson said the province distributed 2,500 doses last year.
In a government news release announcing the vaccine program in April 2023, Dr. Heather Morrison, the Island's chief public health officer, said post-secondary students living in residence "are at higher risk of developing invasive meningococcal disease due to their age in combination with the number of students residing together in close quarters."
Lindsay would like to see New Brunswick follow suit — and not just for students in residence.
"I didn't live in residence, but all of my friends do and did," she said.
Lindsay realizes how lucky she was and how fortunate it was to have a mom who's a health-care worker.
"I am glad that I'm the one that got it, and not any of my friends while they were away, because my mom was here and ... made me go to the hospital. But I know that if I was away, I never would have gotten one of my friends to take me to the hospital."
Her mom is particularly worried about students leaving home for university.
"If I were on the phone with Lindsay, I wouldn't have known how sick she was. And yeah, she probably wouldn't have gotten there in time," said Julie.
N.B. vaccinates against A,C,Y&W, but not B
A spokesperson for the New Brunswick Department of Health said the province "at this time" doesn't provide the meningococcal type B vaccine through its routine schedule.
"Current National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) advice does not recommend including the meningococcal B vaccine in routine immunization programs," said Katelin Dean in an emailed response.
"In New Brunswick, the meningococcal serogroup B vaccine is available to those who are identified as having close contact with a case or are at higher risk of invasive meningococcal disease."
Dean also said the vaccine "can be administered through pharmacies at a cost."
NACI recommends against routine B vaccines
In Canada, there are roughly 100 to 400 cases of meningitis reported every year, according to the Meningitis Foundation Canada.
Since 1993, most cases of infection in Canada can be attributed to the B and C strains, according to a report to Health Canada from a task group examining meningococcal B vaccines. While incidence of group C has actually declined significantly in recent years because of vaccination, outbreaks of B have continued, particularly on college campuses, according to the report.
Despite that, the group did not recommend including B in routine immunization programs.
It does, however, continue to recommend immunization against serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease for anyone at a higher risk of disease due to an underlying medical condition or at an increased risk of exposure.
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