Shot Parties for Students — A Good Idea?

Aug. 11, 2004 -- Corinne Czekaj doesn't like shots. But after hearing reports earlier this year about meningococcal meningitis, the 17-year-old knew she had to get vaccinated before starting college this fall.

Meningococcal meningitis, a form of bacterial meningitis, infects the spinal cord and brain, and can lead to brain damage, deafness and amputation of limbs. The American College Health Association says 100 to 125 cases occur on college campuses each year, and 5 percent to 15 percent of those cases are fatal.

College freshmen living in dormitories are six times more likely to get bacterial meningitis, according to the National Meningitis Association, so it's recommended that students be vaccinated before they move into the dorms.

But Czekaj didn't have to head to a clinic to get the shot. Her mother, with the help of the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Michigan, threw an "immunization party" at their Livonia, Mich., home.

Party Time

Immunization parties are a way the VNA is making college-bound students aware of meningococcal meningitis while offering an enjoyable setting for those who might be reluctant to face the needle.

"I think the kids love it. It's more of a comfortable environment for them," said nurse Kay Renny, VNA's manager of community programs. "They really have a lot of fun."

The Southeast Michigan VNA is currently the only Visiting Nurse Associations of America member offering immunization parties. It has hosted five parties since coming up with the idea last year.

The idea was a solution to a parent's problem of being unable to bring her child to the clinic for a shot. The VNA said it would make a house call if the parent could gather at least 15 teens interested in getting the shot.

Czekaj says her friends were skeptical about the party at first, but then realized it was more convenient than going to a clinic farther away from home.

"At first they thought it was weird when I told them the party was at my house. But when they got there they thought it was much easier," she said.