Side effects of the vaccination
As with all vaccinations, local symptoms can occur at the injection site after meningococcal vaccination. These include redness, pain or even hardening. However, these temporary symptoms are usually completely harmless and indicate that the immune system is dealing with the vaccine.
In addition, general symptoms such as mild fever, headache, aching limbs, fatigue and gastrointestinal problems can also occur.These symptoms also disappear completely after a few hours or days. More serious side effects are very rare. This can lead to allergic reactions caused by the vaccine.
In exceptional cases, these can even lead to allergic shock, but are extremely rare. Seizures can also occur only in very rare cases. If the vaccination against meningococcus C, as recommended by the STIKO, is administered in the second year of life in an otherwise healthy child, there are no particular risks apart from the side effects mentioned above.
In children with a limited immune system, there is a risk that the immune system will not respond adequately to the vaccine. These children may still be at risk of developing meningococcal meningitis. Therefore, the success of the vaccination can be checked by determining the antibodies formed in the blood.
Children at particular risk are sometimes vaccinated before the age of one year, often in combination with other vaccines. Then fever can frequently occur after the vaccination. As a preventive measure, some doctors recommend giving the child paracetamol.
However, children at particular risk should always be advised in advance about the vaccination and the risk-benefit ratio. Occasionally, slightly elevated temperatures may occur after the vaccination. In most cases, however, this is completely harmless and only indicates a reaction of the immune system to the vaccine.
More rarely, higher fever up to chills and very rarely febrile convulsions may occur. In such cases a doctor should be consulted and a report of the previous vaccination should be given. Pain, swelling and redness can occur especially at the injection site after the vaccination.
However, this is normal and, like the mild general symptoms, indicates the desired reaction of the immune system to the vaccine. The pain at the injection site and also in the whole muscle can last for several days and is not worrying at first. General muscle and limb pain can also occur, as in the case of an emerging flu-like infection. These are also harmless in most cases and a normal reaction of the immune system. However, if the pain is unusually severe or persists for a very long time, a doctor must be consulted again and a report of the previous vaccination must be given.
