Vaccinations

[noini89 56]

You will have to have immunity to mumps proven with a lab test. Blood can be drawn by your GP and tested for antibodies for mumps, measles, and rubella. If you show proper immunity, then no shots required. If you pay money for the test and it does not show immunity then you still need two doses of MMR. Or one dose if you plan it shortly before your visa exam.

Where I can do such a lab test? and how is it exactly called? just immunity blood test?

I have appointment booked tomorrow for MMR but I am not sure if this is healthy for the body to take the vaccine if you already underwent those illnesses. I had a record that had both rubella and mumps as a child.

[Sam_L 2]

As a physician, here are a few points I can add:

1. If you have previously had an infection such as mumps, but are not immune to let's say measles, you can still get the MMR vaccine without any adverse effects on your health.

2. Don't confuse Td and Tdap. A Td shot is not a replacement for the Tdap. If you haven't received a Tdap in the last ten years, you will still need the vaccine.

[noini89 56]

As a physician, here are a few points I can add:

2. Don't confuse Td and Tdap. A Td shot is not a replacement for the Tdap. If you haven't received a Tdap in the last ten years, you will still need the vaccine.

I so confused now.

What I have is:

DTP (Di-Te-Per) 3x last one in 1990

Then I have Di-Te in Sept 1995 (almost 10 years, not yet)

Then TD x 2 last one in 2007.

Is Di-Te and TD the same thing? (i have in the same table entitled under Diphteria, tetanus)

What is the Tdap according to mine shots??

[Sam_L 2]

Tdap is tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis

Td is tetanus, diphtheria.

Even though you received Td within the last 10 years, you will still pertussis. Therefore, you should get a Tdap vaccination.

[noini89 56]

Thank you for all the info. You are all really helpful here. appreciate a lot!

[gavw72 23]

gavw72: That is absolutely insane what they put you through. The nurse at my fiancé's GP had no problems giving him the vaccinations under the NHS. If anything she wanted to give him even more shots than was required, but he explained why that was not needed. It took a bit of a run-around and a couple weeks for them to scrounge up a simple print-out of his vaccination record, but it really was not a big fuss.

Can you go somewhere else to receive them that does actually know what they are doing?

Just had a call from the surgery to say they've found my records - no pertussis showing & no MMR. She said she'd contacted public health to see what Tdap was advisable as its either a paediatric one or one aimed at pregnant females! Then she said she'd get back to me to arrange for me to go back.....looks like it could be moving the right way ?

[noini89 56]

I just came back from GP. Got my first shot of MMR, the lady printed off the paper with the proof of the vaccine and signed it. Asked why I want to do it now, told her that I need it for my visa etc. No charge.

Thanks everyone for help.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Just had a call from the surgery to say they've found my records - no pertussis showing & no MMR. She said she'd contacted public health to see what Tdap was advisable as its either a paediatric one or one aimed at pregnant females! Then she said she'd get back to me to arrange for me to go back.....looks like it could be moving the right way ?

The USCIS will accept any version according to the reference handbook for adjudicators.

Td, Tdap, DT, DTP or DtaP

My husband took the pediatric DTP because that's all his doctor had. They were willing to give him that and he suffered no ill effects.

Uppercase letters are a higher dosage for babies. (T, D, P or aP).

Lowercase letters mean a reduced dosage (t, d, p or ap) developed for adolescents and adults because adverse reactions were reported when adults took the higher pediatric formula for pertussis and diphtheria.

[ChasUno 101]

Be aware also that the UK "DTP" formula is different to the USA "DTP". The "P" in the UK version is actually "Polio", not "Pertussis". In the UK pertussis is not routinely given to adults. Most UK born citizens should have had pertussis given with their baby shots, and as long as you have a record of this, then it will be sufficient for AOS.

Also, many GP surgeries aren't well equipped to deal with vaccination requirements for IMMIGRATION. Their default action is to refer you to the Travel Nurse, who is generally more familiar with vaccinations required only for traveling abroad, and NOT immigration. I got the same initial comments when I went that "USA doesn't require vaccinations to travel". You need to push them and emphasise that USA vaccination immigration requirements are different compared with those just for travel. Even once they are aware of this, they are not obliged to give you the vaccinations for free. I got mine free because I work as a frontline healthcare professional and I am at a higher risk of comming into contact with infected people. That got me the vaccinations for no extra charge. If your profession means working in a general office, car mechanic etc., then they may/ can ask you to pay for them.

Some have also found it problematic to get hold of their previous vaccination records. Younger people may find all their records are online, thus it's easy for the surgery to access them. Older people may have paper records that need to be accessed to get the information. In my case, I had to send a written request to my doctor giving permission for the clerks to find and retrieve the information from my old paper records.

Lastly, some people said they have already had mumps/ rubella etc. as a child and wonder if an immunity blood test may be sufficient. It may well be, but check the charges. It could possibly be more expensive to do a specialised blood test than to simply have the vaccinations again, which as has been mentioned above, will be very unlikely to cause any issues.