I should get packet 4 any day now so i am not going to go for a medical until i get that i guess. I only just found out you can arrange it beforehand. I just wondered what shots i need and if i can get anything ready. i need to ask my GP what shots i have got i guess.

Does anybody know what happens if my birth certificate is not "long". It is the original but not "long".

Also i am looking fo r alist of required shots and any idea if i would have to pay a gp?

Any advice is much needed as i am no good at official stuff.

I know that you need to have the long version of your birth certificate....if you log on to the us embassy in london it will give you a list of vaccinations that you need...i personally would get them done by your GP before you go for the medical as they as quite expensive at the Knightsbridge doctors. The GPs in the UK do not charge for any vaccinations. I would definately get your medical appointment as soon as you can because they then need to send the results to the embassy, and i`m guessing that you do not want to be held up because of that. Good luck.

thanks but do you know what happens if my original birth certificate is not long?

Yes i only had my short version, but you do have to have your long version, all you do is apply for it at the registrars where you were born, it cost me 7 pounds and i received it back within 3 days, it is a certified copy which is sufficient, i checked that with the embassy, you just need to let them know your full name place and date of birth and your parents names

Thanks you saved me at least one worry once i find out where i need to go to get that.

Hi,

Get onto your medical records quick with your GP. I'm trapped in a pre computerised system at my G.P. they are trying to locate my hand written records, through 12,000 files!!! So frustrating getting through the doctors receptionist....

this is from some visa site for immigration to US:-

What are the vaccination requirements?

You should have vaccinations for:

· Mumps

· Measles

· Rubella

· Polio

· Tetanus

· Diphtheria toxoids

· Pertussis

· Influenza type B

· Hepatitis B

If you are unable to submit all your vaccination records at the time of the exam, or if you have never had certain vaccines, the Civil Surgeon or Panel Physician can administer them to you.
Important: Do not try to fulfill your vaccination requirements before you meet with the Panel Physician or Civil Surgeon, in case it is not medically appropriate for you to have one or more of the required vaccines

Great list, godsavethequeen!!

I remember reading somewhere that the flu shot was only required if you are 60 years old or over. So that last sentence about not fulfilling the requirements before meeting with a civil surgeon refers to things like that, I believe.

Hepatitis B if under the age of 19

Influenza if over the age of 50

That's correct Bethanie.
I remember Tony had to get the long version of his birth certificate also.

karen

I called my doctor today and it would seem they have only got records for polio and tetanus but both of those have expired. Should i have my medical and then get shots that they say i need? Or do i need to get a record of not having any shots? Is there any point in saying i have nothing? Seems odd that they are saying that. I thought vaccines lasted forever(at least some).

I got my shots done after the medical, went to GP's and got polio/tetanus and MMR, also asked them if they could write a letter confirming that I had had the shots etc, luckily it didn't cost a thing.

Make sure you keep the letter so that you can send a copy of it with your AOS application, this will save getting an RFE etc.

Good luck at the medical.

godsavethequeen - I was in the exact same boat with MY GP medical records - it took almost 3 weeks, and they had to send away for the info to the people doing the records transfer to computer, to get what turned out to be photocopies of my med records showing the shots; which I transferred to a seperate sheet, listing all with dates, and took THAT with me to the medical - I also took the photocopies in case they wanted to check I hadn't made any up, lol.
They looked at my sheet (I've had over 25 shots in my life, including typhoid which raised an eyebrow at Kensington,lol, due to a lot of world travel) but still only entered the ones on the Embassy list - annoying as Ive had most if not ALL of the shots I'd need for AOS as well and I wanted that recorded. Still, I have the original copies frm my records and I'm dragging those to the US with me and hopefully the panel physician for AOS will accept them.

Poor Tim is going to his GP today to get the TD & MMR. Not sure about the chicken pox (varicella), no record of him having had them and I read somewhere the UK doesn't even give this vaccine. The rest I believe are not age appropriate. Yabasta you will probably find the same you will not even need the majority of these.

Any of you just tell the panel physician that you had the chicken pox in the past? If so was that okay? Tim knows he has had them, just records are to old(like him) and no longer in his file.

B

If you have scars you can show them as proof of chicken pox..most accept that - even at AOS I've heard. Varicella is not given as a vaccine in the UK, so you're right about that one, but its also not age appropriate for somehttp://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/...ccinechart.html

someone may be able to answer, as I am over 60, (only just though ) and it is "out of season" for the flu jab, already had the tetanus one, will we still be required to have the flu one. I am sure that I phoned the embassy to ask this, but with senility setting in I can't really remember if they said yes or no

Don't forget that you don't have to have the shots if you don't want them. You can get titres to prove you have immunity if you prefer not to have any more chemicals pumped through your body. I paid for the titres (about 60 quid in total) and my immunities were so high the nurse said I would have probably had a very nasty and serious reaction to repeat jabs. My chicken pox scar, that is clear on my face, was not accepted by the panel physician...unfortunately

Sorry what is titres?

Is it that game with shaped blocks?


Seriously though what is it? I don`t want jabs(not because of needles just because of the fact you never know what they are giving you and it seems unnatural to me.

It's a simple blood test to prove you have already had the jabs, or are immune because you already had the disease, or built your own immunities playing kiss chase in the playground I too didn't want to have the jabs because of health reasons, and not cos I'm a wuss with needles. I got them done at a private clinic in the UK, but you can get it done for your AOS in the US, especially if you can wrangle the health insurance to pay for it.

I have a question about the MMR.. Im gonna get mine done next week - but thinking further on it - why do we have to have it? Ok I have no records to show that I may have had it as a child - I moved to england from Uganda at the age of 3, my doctor seems to think I should have had it already but as there is no record I am opting to have it done now. I thought the MMR was only really effective for kids - and being an adult it is highly unlikely that we would get any of the deseases, am I correct? I am a wuss with injections so I dont really want to have injections if I can get away with it but I was just wandering why the MMR is so important for adults to have.

Can someone also help me in confirming these are all i need:
According to the vaccination chart I am 38 yrs old and I need to have TD (what is TD), MMR, and I had chicken pox as a child lucky they found the record of that , and the Influenza I presume is for 50 years and older although some years here in the UK I have had the jab, But I guess it isnt the fl season yet so I dont need that one.


Is TD the same as DT - I believe I had tetnus and diptheria which comes in one jab in December 2005.?

Thanks in advance
Lina (UKC)

Yes, they are the jabs you need, but like I said you don't have to have them as per my post above. It sounds like your tetanus is up to date as it supposed to last ten years, I think. I'm sure someone will clarify that.

Yes i was told my tetanus was due in 2001 and i had it in 1991.

Should i ask about titres at my doctors?

If you want to go the titre route there is no harm in asking your GP. They may allow you to have them on the NHS or direct you to a private clinic. Call around and get a few prices for comparison. Where do you live? I got my titres done at the clinic in Victoria station.

Tetanus you can only have so many in your lifetime, I *think* its 8 shots..after that you can't have any more according to my GP. And Tetantus isn't given as a single shot any more its down as DTAP or DTP.
Lina I had the MMR, I never had it as a child but the doc said I didnt need 2 so wouldnt give me another. Oh well, lol It didnt hurt tho

Sounds like all you need is the mmr now Lina, your tetanus is still good. I thought it was strange that an adult would need the MMR, like you Tim can't seem to get a record of having it or chicken pox from his local gp. He asked about them writing a statement that he had the chicken pox, they wouldn't do that and told him he would have to go to a private facility for the titre. He is going to wing it and see what happens at the medical and go from there if he has to have the titre, as we have heard mixed stories some can say they have had chicken pox and get by others say they are told they have to have the titre. Thinking he is just avoiding one more needle lol.

B

if he has old pox scars he can show those as 'proof' - its not always accepted by many cases it is. Worth a shot (no pun, lol)

I think a shot is what he is going to need he just will not admit it! Ask him about scars he told me he had none, he really thinks he is going to get out of this titre!

Actually, you can contract measles, mumps and/or rubella (German measles) at any age. Adults can very easily contract these diseases if they did not have them as a child or had a very mild case. In fact, doctors recommend women who want to become pregnant to get the MMR jab so that she does not risk a miscarriage if she contracts one of these diseases during pregnancy.

Also, I had the MMR series when I was a child (I'm a USC) but I had to have a "booster" when I started college in the 1980's because there were problems with some people my age not having the MMR "take" - meaning that though they had the jab they did not have enough antibodies to prevent a recurrence.

If you may have had it as a child and not since, it should not adversely affect you to have a booster as an adult. Of course there are always exceptions, but they are rare.

I can imagine with the measles outbreak here in the UK, the US would want to make sure all the UK applicants have the jab.