How do we go about getting vaccination records for my husband here in Canada?

Thanks!
Tammy

Depends on where he lives. Seems to depend as well on how old he is. I'll let you respond as to where he lives, or where he received vaccinations as a youth before responding, otherwise you'll get each person's provincial input!

Carla

Kitchener Ontario (and he's 34, if that helps any )

Someone who grew up in Ontario will know the Health Unit for you to call.

Many of us Canadians couldn't get our records- I couldn't. After so long some Provinces don't keep them anymore. I went to my local Medicentre Walk in Clinic and asked to be sent to the Lab for a Titres test- they take blood and check for what you have immunity to. I brought the list of what I needed to be checked for- measles, mumps, rubella and tetnus. The Doctor who does the Immigration Physical will take oral testimony if he has had Chicken Pox but you can include that in the Titres too if you want.

With Alberta Health Care I didn't have to pay for the Titres or the new shots I went to get after I came up low immunity on a few things.

So can we go ahead and do that now even though we're not to that stage of paperwork now? What is the list of everything he needs to have checked? Or where can I find a list?

And what exactly would I tell the doctor when we go to have him tested? (Just want to be sure I get exactly what we need.)

Thanks!
Tammy

Yes- I went and got all that taken care of early. I'm glad I did because I came up low immunity, redid all my shots and went for another Titres test after a month when it would show up well in my system. I would have been fine to just bring the records of my new shots to the Interview and to the Civil Surgeon here in the US. I was worried because you are starting to hear of some these diseases and outbreaks of them. When I was in Vancouver for my Interview- it was all over the news about a group of Japanese students being quarantined for Measles or Mumps (I can't recall which one- I think measles) I saw a few of them around town wearing face masks and shopping. I was just glad I knew I had my shots redone

Misa gave me list of the things I needed- I'll see if I can go find that info for you.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=53045&hl=

I found the link for when I asked about what was needed.

Ah, his records may have been destroyed. I'm just a year younger than him and the health department had no record of my vaccinations. Won't hurt to have him inquire though. Like Stacey33, I ended up getting blood titre tests done to test for previous immunizations and any vaccinations that I needed. It was all covered by OHIP.

He might ask his parents if they happened to keep records of his vaccinations. Mine did so I had them available for me when the time came. Just another possibility to explore before he goes through the effort of getting titres done, etc. As well, his family doctor should have a record of recurring vaccinations like tetanus - they need to be redone every 10 years so that record may exist.

Ok, so someone on that link isted these:

- mumps
-- measles
-- rubella
-- polio
-- tetanus and diphtheria toxoids
-- pertussis
-- influenzae type b (Hib)
-- hepatitis B
-- varicella
-- pneumococcal and
-- influenza.


But those aren't for his age group, am I right? For his age, he only needs these:

--mumps
-- measles
-- rubella
--tetanus and diphtheria
-- varicella

Is that right or am I totally reading something wrong?

And I can just go to our doctor or to a walking to get the titers testing done? Can they test for all of these? (except varicella?)

The list looks good.

They can test for varicella (chicken pox) if you want it.

I didn't bother adding that for my Titres because the Doctor will accept oral testimony if you had chicken pox. I also had a note from my childhood Doctor that confirmed I had it- I didn't need to bring it but the Doctor did keep it.

Thanks!

And how long to get the results once you are tested?

Depends on the speed of the laboratory in your area - I know in BC it usually takes about four days or so from MDS Metro to get blood test results.

Yes- 4 or 5 days is about what it took for my results too.

I was the person who originally replied to your post daisylynn, and then I was away for a day! I'm glad Stacey33 was around to help! My apologies for asking questions and then not getting back to you. Hope you got all the info you needed.

Carla

That's ok Carla...thanks!

So, we got the referral to get the titre testing done. They don't test for tetanus and diptheria? He has to get that shot now.

Also, what is it you need from the doctor's office if they have to get shots? Do they need to write something out to take to the medical exam or what? And when they get testing done, do we just use the results form to take to the medical?

When I got my shots done at my local doctor, I had her write a letter for the medical exam stating that I didn't need to take the vaccinations, since I'd been confirmed by blood testing to be immune to chicken pox and I'd been given boosters for MMR and TD.

I guess I'm a bit late but many school kids needed to have their immunization records or else they got their shots. I grew up in North York and that's the way it was. The public health nurse would come by once a year or so and any kids who didn't have their immunizations up to date would get the shot. If you go to the doctor's office don't tell him or her that you need it for immigration or OHIP won't cover it. It depends on how well you know the doctor. The doctor or nurse will administer the shots right in the office. The doctor will also fill out a standard requisition form for a blood test. You will also need a Syphilis and HIV test. That blood test in Ontario will go through the Ministry of Health. You can test at any lab but the results will come from the Ministry. Get a chest x-ray and metastatic report or else get the Mantoux test (skin prick). If you have been exposed to TB or been vaccinated against it, then go with the chest x-ray as the Mantoux test will come back positive. If you are really interested, go to a hospital to get the chest x-ray and you will get a CD with your x-ray which you can show at family get togethers There's nothing I like as much as looking at a shapely hilum. When you go to your panel physician he or she will look at your lab results but will force you to get a chest x-ray (again) and the various blood tests (again) since the USCIS folks are really obsessive about these items. The panel physician (or the civil surgeon in the US) will accept your vaccination info (yellow card). The panel physician will make a determination as to what shots are needed at that time. If you aren't sure about the vaccination record then get blood tests for immunity (antibody titers) through your family doctor. He or she can test for varicella (Varicella zoster aka Human Herpes Virus 3 aka Hepes Zoster aka Chickenpox) immunity. If you need your shots to be done by the panel physician, you'll pay extra. Lab tests take up to a week or more for results, although I've had results in as little as two days. Give yourself plenty of time. The vaccination schedule as set out by the USCIS is just taken from the CDC. You can go to the website http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules...lt-schedule.pdf and look at the schedule, there is also an interactive quiz that can help you at http://www2.cdc.gov/nip/adultImmSched/ . One warning, the pneumococcal vaccine (PPV) is in very short supply due to the panic caused by the media. It might take up to a month or more to get the shot, my parents got theirs after three weeks. Hopefully your DH won't need the vaccine. When it is all done, you will get a nice sealed envelope which will be opened by the consular officials at the interview. Do not open it yourself and be sure to guard it with your life.

BTW, the medical is only good for one year so you may want to wait a bit before taking it.

Either the doctor will do the vaccinations or you will be referred to a clinic to get them done. I was given a little "immunization record" booklet, with the vaccination, date given etc. marked in the book, with the initials of who gave them. I just showed that to the Consulate civil surgeon. DON'T ask your family doctor for x-rays or blood work that is required by the Consulate doctor. HE/SHE will order this, and the results come back to him.

Carla

Ok, now I'm super confused. We got the requisition for the lab work. They asked which ones he needed to be tested for, so I told her measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria. She said they don't test for tet/dip but they do the rest. So, he got the blood work for those other 3. He is scheduled to have a tetanus shot next week.

Is there ANY thing else he should have had titre testing for? Or, is there ANY thing else the doctor needed to do. Someone mentioned Syphilis and HIV. Does he need to be tested for these?

As of right now, we will just have the results from the titer testing for MMR and then the tetanus/dip shot. ANYTHING else?? I want to make sure we get this right and don't forget anything.

Thank you!!!

They tested for tet/dip on me. It came up low the first Titres I had done even though I had a booster a few months earlier. I ended up getting another shot done. Maybe it is something that is a pain to test for and results don't always come up accurate?? Not sure.

He is getting the tetanus shot next week- he'll have proof/record of that no problem.

The HIV test is part of the immigration physical- they test for HIV and will also do a chest X-RAY to check for Tuberculosis.

Go to the two webpages I mentioned they have the vaccination schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. The CDC determines the schedule the panel physician MUST follow. Get your family doctor to do all the tests ahead of time, that will save you time and money when you go to the panel physician. Ask your family doctor for copies of the results, if the doctor won't give them to you, get another doctor. You will need to be tested for syphilis and HIV by the panel physician but if you get the test done by the family doctor and get the results, then you will have no surprises on the day of the physical. If DH doesn't have the full record of immunization then you must have your Td shot no more than 2 months prior to the physical as the normal Td immunization schedule is three shots within a 12 month period. That's about it but do go to the vaccination webpages I mentioned and you can take the schedule in to your doctor so he or she becomes aware of what you need. Once DH gets his shots, get the immunization record book (yellow card) filled in by the doctor or nurse. The panel physician will want to see that. The panel physician will do all the tests again during the physical but if you know what your blood test and chest x-ray will show ahead of time you won't be shocked at the physical or interview. Better to be safe than sorry.

I don't believe that's right - as far as I'm aware, only one shot is administered for the TD booster shot.



If you need to get the booster shots once the results of the titres test is in, a letter will suffice from the doctor stating that he's received the booster shots and won't need them again at the medical exam.

With doing the blood test and chest x-ray ahead of time so there are no surprises... definitely a personal choice, but I wouldn't put myself unnecessarily through the x-ray machine.

About the same risk as using a cell phone so it is a personal choice. If you haven't had a check up in a while might not be such a bad idea.