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Reporter: Associated Press

HealthBeat: Meningitis Shots

The vaccine for a form of meningitis is now being recommended for millions of adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics is advising the parents of eleven- and 12-year-olds and students entering high school to make sure their children get the shots.

The vaccine is also recommended for college students moving into dormitories.

Meningococcal (mehn-ihn-guh-KAH'-kuhl) meningitis strikes about three-thousand people annually nationwide. It kills about one-fifth of the adolescents who contract the virus.

The federal government has urged that a new vaccine developed in January be made available to high risk groups.

Pediatricians are hoping the vaccine will be routinely given to children by age eleven within three years.

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