The absence of satisfactory treatment options combined with the high risks for infants makes a compelling argument for aggressive protection against the disease in the U.S. through infant vaccination, along with the existing adolescent immunization strategy (to ensure continued immunity).
The phase 3 trial actually compared smoking cessation outcomes for vaccination and placebo for several months after the vaccination schedule, whereas the current study focused on the period just after immunization.
The study, which was published in Pediatrics, analyzed vaccination data for teens between the ages of 13 and 17 in the 2008-2010 National Immunization Survey of Teens.
The goal of the U.S. vaccination program should be to eliminate meningococcal disease, and the preferred strategy to eliminate the disease would include infant immunization, even though for reasons that are unknown the incidence of the disease has declined in recent years.