Wyoming Health Department Won’t Implement New Vaccine Requirement

Wyoming health officials are withdrawing a proposed requirement for students to receive vaccination for meningococcal meningitis due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Wyoming Department of Health Immunization Unit Manager Jude Alden said the timing wasn't right to implement a new vaccine requirement. Health officials will take another look at implementing the requirement once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.

Alden said all children around 12-years-old should get the vaccine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, meningococcal disease is at a historic low in the United States. Cases of the disease have been declining since the 1990s.

The CDC says meningococcal disease refers to any of the illnesses caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis. They include infections of the brain lining, spinal cord and bloodstream infections.