Vaccinations - 10 year validity?

[britgirl87 0]

Hi all! Hope there are good days all around!

So i just went to my Doctors to get all my immunisations printed out and validated etc. and she told me that all was in order and I was good to go, which was very exciting! Except when I looked at the print outs a little later on my Tdp (required) runs out at the beginning of August this year (as in reaches a ripe old age of ten years old) and my MMR was last given as a booster in 1994... So does this mean that the doctor was wrong and actually I am not covered for these 2 vaccinations as they are both from over ten years ago?

Thanks - confusion!

[kutakendra 3]

I am a doctor. I have never had a MMR booster, but Tdap requires a booster for Americans. If you cut yourself, it will be given by the doctor or hospital. It isn't regularly scheduled for us, though. It's the tetanus that's the problem. We have been having Whooping cough (P) and measles (MMR) outbreaks from unvaccinated children, mostly on the Coasts, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are requiring them, now for immigrants.

[TwoCats 55]

Having just been to this medical - I can say you require a TDaP in the last 10 years - and you need to have had 2*MMR - I got caught here as I'd had a measles shot, and 1*MMR, so had to get the extra MMR at the medical. (£35 charge)

You also need to have had chicken pox - they'll accept an oral history on this, but do tell the truth, adult chicken pox is bad stuff.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

So does this mean that the doctor was wrong and actually I am not covered for these 2 vaccinations as they are both from over ten years ago?

Your doctor is British and is telling you British standard practices, so no he's not wrong if you are going to continue to live in the UK. BUT you are having to meet US immunization standards, which can be quite different. What your GP says does not mean the USCIS is going to approve you. From the USCIS instruction manual--

Applicants who have completed the initial DTP/DTaP/DT or Td/Tdap series should receive a Td/Tdap booster shot every 10 years. If the last dose was received more than 10 years ago, the applicant is required to have the booster shot before Form I-693 can be approved.

Further talk says they go by the date of your medical exam...if you were in compliance on that date, all is well.

( C ) Steps to determine the necessary vaccinations . [Chapter added 12-15-2009]

Step 1 . First determine which vaccinations were required for the applicant as of the date the medical exam was conducted.

Step 2 . Verify that the vaccinations required as of the date of the medical exam had been received by the applicant or that the vaccinations required as of that date were marked as “not medically appropriate.”

A properly completed DS-3025 from Knightsbridge included with your other medical results will suffice as proof of compliance without an I-693. If you go to a civil surgeon in the US after August, then you will have to get in compliance as of that NEW medical date. That could mean boosters or second doses because time has passed in the interval since your Knightsbridge exam.

[JoannaV 173]

So long as you have proof of two MMR shots, you are fine regarding that.

The TDaP is needed every ten years for US immigration purposes, but if it's not required in the UK then you probably won't be able to get it on the NHS. So there isn't really anything you can do about it.

You will be able to get it at the medical if needed, will cost extra but not too much. If your medical is before August you shouldn't need it at all, but like Nich-Nick says make sure your medical and vaccination record are complete so that it will pass in the US when you AOS too.

[britgirl87 0]

In regards to the two MMR shots - does that mean the initial one and then a following 'booster' shot, or two boosters? Sorry just checking! Thanks for all the replies! So helpful!

[JoannaV 173]

In regards to the two MMR shots - does that mean the initial one and then a following 'booster' shot, or two boosters? Sorry just checking! Thanks for all the replies! So helpful!

Just the one booster :-)

[TwoCats 55]

You should be able to get the TDaP booster on the NHS if it's 10 years since your last one - UK guidelines state that you can have it every 10 years until you've had 5 shots, at which point you are immune.

This should be free, just ask for an appointment.

[Ellesse 11]

You also need to have had chicken pox - they'll accept an oral history on this, but do tell the truth, adult chicken pox is bad stuff.

You NEED to have had chicken pox? That could be tricky because not everyone has had it as a child and, if not, varicella isn't given in the UK. Do you know what happens if you haven't had chicken pox? Interested as I haven't had chicken pox (and it wasn't for want of trying - Mum used to take me and my brother to chicken pox parties, and we still didn't catch it), and wonder how it will be dealt with in the medical. Would it be a vaccine you'd have to get once in the States?

L

[Dan&Aylin 1]

A properly completed DS-3025 from Knightsbridge included with your other medical results will suffice as proof of compliance without an I-693.

I thought you said just the DS-3025 was enough? What do you mean by other medical results? I don't have anything else from Knightsbridge. Unless you just mean that my results will be on file at the USCIS?

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

I thought you said just the DS-3025 was enough? What do you mean by other medical results? I don't have anything else from Knightsbridge. Unless you just mean that my results will be on file at the USCIS?

Your full medical results (DS-2053, DS-3024, DS-3025 and DS-3026) go from Knightsbridge >>> Embassy >>> sealed brown envelope you get >>> POE >>> your A-file stored at a national records center >>> your AOS file if USCIS indeed orders your A-file when they receive your AOS application.

That's your whole medical exam results (which you will not be given a copy of) but need to find their way to your AOS application. Your "official" vaccination record will be a part of that. Sending your copy of the DS-3025 is a way to say "hey, I got mine properly completed on this form so don't be lookin' for an I-693. Look in my A-file." I believe they actually need to find the official one in your file that has been "sealed" or remained in a chain of custody so you couldn't alter it, if you follow what I'm saying.

Sometimes your medical results don't make it to your AOS application and you end up doing a whole new medical. It happens, but it's not your fault nor something you can control. The Embassy and Knightsbridge do not keep copies. Most of the time all goes well and they don't lose your medical.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

You NEED to have had chicken pox? That could be tricky because not everyone has had it as a child and, if not, varicella isn't given in the UK. Do you know what happens if you haven't had chicken pox? Interested as I haven't had chicken pox (and it wasn't for want of trying - Mum used to take me and my brother to chicken pox parties, and we still didn't catch it), and wonder how it will be dealt with in the medical. Would it be a vaccine you'd have to get once in the States?

L

Elesse--

If you haven't had chickenpox then you get no "VH" (varicella history) written on you immunization sheet (DS3025). So you will not have a "properly completed DS3025" that can meet the requirements for AOS. You'll still get a K1 visa.

Then in the US you go get a varicella shot anywhere you like--private doctor, health department, Walgreens. Then try to find a Civil Surgeon on the USCIS list who will transcribe your Knightsbridge shot record and your new varicella record onto the I-693. The difficulty is people call 10 offices that want to charge too much or insist you have to have a full medical exam. It gets very frustrating when you get quoted $100-$300. Hopefully you can find one who will copy your shot records for $50 or less. Too bad you didn't have chickenpox to avoid the hassle and extra costs.