Dan Goldberg is reporting at Capital New York the state Legislature Wed., Jun. 17, passed a bill requiring 7th- and 12th-grade students to receive a meningococcal vaccine. The measure now heads to the governor's desk for his signature. Meningitis is a life-threatening bacterial infection. In comments Wednesday, Assembly member Deborah Glick reminded her colleagues that meningitis was a contagious disease and the decision to avoid vaccination could have far-reaching consequences. Assembly member and vaccine opponent Tom Abinanti pointed out that very few people in the state actually contract the disease. He also said the vaccine manufacturer acknowledges that roughly one percent of recipients will suffer harm, and 10 percent of those people will suffer serious harm from the vaccine. The meningitis bill was also targeted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who, earlier this month, accused the press of “parrot[ing] ... orthodoxies” about vaccine safety, and accused the pharmaceutical industry of poisoning children. Read the full story at Capital Confidential.