Meningococcal vaccines is used to protect against most forms of meningococcal disease. It however does not protect against all forms of this disease. There are two kinds of meningococcal vaccines in the United States.  These are

 
• Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) which is the preferred vaccine for people 55 years of age and younger
• Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4) has been available since the 1970s. It is the only meningococcal vaccine licensed for people older than 55.

 
Both vaccines can prevent 4 types of meningococcal disease including  2 of the 3 types most common in the United States and a type that causes epidemics in Africa. The vaccine does not protect against other forms of meningococcal disease.

Who should get the meningococcal vaccines and when ?

The meningococcal vaccines is recommended that  adolescents 11 through 18 years of age receive  2 doses of the MCV4 . The first dose at  11 or 12 years of age with a booster shot at 16.

If you are an adolescent who falls in this group and have HIV , you should get three doses: 2 doses 2 months apart at 11 or 12 years,  and  a booster at age 16.

If you get your first dose between 13 and 15 years of age, the booster should be given between 16 and 18 years. If the first dose is given after 16, a booster shot is not needed.

You are at increased risk if you fall in this group.

 
• US military recruits.
• college  freshmen who live in dormitories
• laboratory personnel who are routinely exposed to meningococcal bacteria
• anyone whose spleen has been removed or is damaged
• people who may have been exposed to meningitis during outbreak
• anyone with an immune system disorder
• people traveling or living in a part of the world where meningococcal disease is common, such as parts of Africa.