Most OSU students have met vaccination requirement

More than 98 percent of Oregon State University students have completed or are close to completing a new university requirement that all students 25 and under attending the university’s Corvallis campus must be vaccinated against Meningococcal B.

OSU officials reported Wednesday that more than 84 percent of its required students have completed the vaccination requirement. An additional nearly 14 percent of students have received at least one dose and are making progress toward the requirement.

“We applaud our students for stepping up to address this public health risk,” said Dan Larson, interim vice provost of student affairs. “OSU will continue to work to support the health and safety of its students and the community.”

The latest figures come a week after Oregon State held its second round of Meningococcal B mass vaccination clinics in conjunction with Fred Meyer Pharmacy. The clinics were a response to the new requirement, which stemmed from six cases of Oregon State students diagnosed with the disease since November 2016.

“This has been a massive undertaking that wouldn’t be possible without the remarkable response from nearly 20,000 students, hundreds of faculty and staff on campus and in the community, and an extraordinary partnership with local health care providers, the Benton County Health Department and the Oregon Health Authority,” said Steve Clark, vice president for University Relations and Marketing.

Although no further vaccination clinics are scheduled on campus, students can still get vaccinated at OSU’s Student Health Services in the Plageman Building, by their primary care physicians, and at local urgent care centers and pharmacies.

Students who have not complied with the university’s vaccination requirement face a hold on their registration for spring term classes.

Meningococcal B disease is an uncommon and serious disease. In 10 to 15 percent of cases, death may result, as was the case with a University of Oregon student in 2015. In 20 percent of cases, hearing loss, mental impairment and limb loss can result.

For details regarding this vaccination requirement, visit the Student Health Services website: GetTheVax.oregonstate.edu.

For more information regarding the university’s new vaccination requirement and exemptions, call the Office of Student Life, 541-737-6362 (MENB).

For more information regarding the meningococcal B vaccination, dosing or for medical information, call OSU Student Health Services, 541-737-7570.