Search Here

Men lined up at an AIDS Healthcare Foundation pharmacy in West Hollywood on Monday to get a free meningitis vaccine following a local man's death.

Brett Shaad, a 33-year-old West Hollywood, Calif. resident died on Saturday, just four days after he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. Now some community members are taking proper precaution by getting vaccinated after Councilmember John Duran warned residents of the deadly strain in a press conference on Friday.

"We don't want to panic people," said Duran. "But we learned 30 years ago the consequences of delay in the response to AIDS. We are sounding the alarm that sexually active gay men need to be aware that we have a strain of meningitis that is deadly on our hands."

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation began offering free meningitis vaccines Monday morning after the severity of Shad's case. "We just think it's a prudent public health action," Ged Kenslea, spokesman for the organization, told the Los Angeles Times.

Shaad began to feel sick on Monday and visited the emergency room Wednesday. He fell into a coma on Thursday. On Friday, doctors declared him brain dead. Shad was removed from life support on Saturday, at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Beverly Hills, Calif. where he was pronounced dead, according to the Huffington Post. 

"It reminded everyone how short life really is," said Allen Smith, a 21-year-old dance student who made sure to get vaccinated.  Smith said he had a weak immune system and wanted to protect himself from the disease after hearing of Shaad's death.

This follows a recent outbreak of a deadly meningitis strain among New York City's gay community. Since 2010, 22 men have been diagnosed and seven have died. However, it is unclear whether the strains are related. 

Eric Aronson, 41, who was recently in New York, was worried about the possibility of exposure. He heard about the free vaccines over the weekend and showed up early Monday morning as well.

Bacterial meningitis can spread through "the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions (e.g., kissing)," but not casual contact or breathing the same air as an infected person, according to the Center for Disease Control. Symptoms can include a sudden fever, headache and stiff neck, as well as nausea, vomiting, confusion and increased sensitivity to light.