Important: VAERS reports alone cannot determine if a vaccine caused an adverse event. Reports may contain incomplete, inaccurate, or unverified information. Correlation does not equal causation.
Meningococcal vaccines protect against bacterial meningitis — a rare but potentially fatal infection. Routinely given to adolescents at ages 11-12 and 16, and required by many colleges for dorm residents. VAERS contains over 36,000 reports across all meningococcal vaccine types.
The following symptoms are most frequently reported after meningococcal vaccination:
There are two main categories:
MenB vaccines tend to have more local side effects (injection site pain) than MenACWY vaccines, which is reflected in VAERS reporting patterns.
Very common:
Common:
Rare:
A notable portion of meningococcal vaccine VAERS reports involve syncope (fainting). This is not specific to meningococcal vaccines — adolescents faint after any injection at much higher rates than other age groups. The CDC recommends a 15-minute observation period after vaccinating adolescents for this reason.
Meningococcal disease is rare (about 300-400 cases/year in the U.S.) but devastating — 10-15% of cases are fatal, and up to 20% of survivors have permanent complications like limb amputation, hearing loss, or brain damage. The vaccine has dramatically reduced cases in the age groups most at risk.