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Menveo
Menveo is a vaccine approved to help prevent invasive meningococcal disease, including bacterial meningitis and bloodstream infections. It is typically injected as a single dose and is approved for people between the ages of 2 and 55. It contains no aluminum or thimerosal. Common side effects include headaches, muscle pain, and injection site reactions such as pain or swelling.
Menveo® (meningococcal vaccine) is a vaccine that provides protection against invasive meningococcal disease (such as bacterial meningitis) caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria. It is approved for use in individuals 2 through 55 years of age.
(Click Menveo Uses for more information on this topic, including possible off-label uses.)
Thimerosal Content and Other Concerns
Menveo does not contain thimerosal (a mercury-containing preservative). People who are concerned about exposure to this substance can be confident that this vaccine has no thimerosal -- not even trace amounts.
Some people also are concerned about the aluminum content of vaccines. Menveo contains no aluminum.
This vaccine is not made from animal components or human fetal cell lines, unlike some vaccines.
Menveo is made by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc.
Menveo contains polysaccharide (sugar) molecules from the outside coating of the N. meningitidis bacteria. The polysaccharides in Menveo are attached to diphtheria toxoid proteins (this creates what is known as a conjugate vaccine). This simple change makes vaccines more effective for younger children, since children respond better to conjugate vaccines, and provides longer-lasting immunity.
Simply stated, Menveo "tricks" the body into thinking it has been exposed to the actual bacteria, but without the risks of a real infection. If future exposure to the bacteria occurs, the immune system "remembers" the bacteria and is better able to fight it off.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD