7 March 2017
As publicised in the media, students in years 10, 11 and 12 who meet the criteria will be offered free vaccines for meningococcal B as part of a "nation-leading" trial by the University of Adelaide and SA Health in 2017. The organisations are examining the impact of immunising large community groups against the disease.
The 2 year trial involves taking throat swabs, amongst other measures to see whether students are carrying either harmless or potentially dangerous types of meningococcal bacteria, what effect the vaccine has on the germs and what impact vaccination has on each face to face school community of students. One of the aims is to convince the government to subsidise the cost of the vaccine, which is up to $500.
This trial and the vaccine are not part of the National Immunisation Program that OAC students’ have access to. OAC has been in negotiation with SA Health but as our students are not continually on campus they do not meet the criteria required for the trial.
Some OAC parents, who have approached their own General Practitioner, have been concerned at the apparent shortage of the vaccine. We have been reassured by SA Health that this will soon be rectified.
Daniel Bayer