Locating Your Immunization Records

Many parents maintained their own vaccine records for their children—particularly for those of us born before computers and internet were commonplace in doctor’s offices.  In many cases, we can accept a good digital photo of this full document as proof of immunity.  Parents often tuck these records away with baby books and other childhood mementos.  Sometimes they’re tucked with important papers like birth certificates.

Your doctor’s office will often have a copy of these records on hand.  If you turned 18 recently (within the last seven years or so) and switched from a pediatrician to a family practice physician, your pediatrician’s office may still have these records.  You may need to complete a Release of Information form in order to get those records and that process takes about a week at most doctor’s offices.  
If you need a Release of Information form in order to get these records, you can use our form at this link and have the information sent directly to you or to our office.

Many states require you to submit your vaccinations in order to maintain enrollment as a high school student.  Contact your school and ask them for a copy of your vaccination records.  

If you are a transfer student, Graduate, Doctoral or Law Student, you may be able to locate the immunizations you submitted to your previous university's health center. 

If you need a Release of Information form in order to get these records, you can use our form at this link and have the information sent directly to you or to our office.

Many doctor’s offices upload vaccines given to children straight to their state’s vaccine information registry system.  Many of these systems have online portals for citizens of that state to access their immunization records.  Use the information provided on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website to locate the contact information for your state’s vaccine registry and contact them to see what records are on file.
Remember—they collect information from the physicians in their state only, so if you lived in multiple states when you were a child and the state where you presently reside doesn’t have any information or has incomplete information, you may need to contact the registry for the state where you lived between the ages of one and six years old.

If you did any kind of military service, you very likely have vaccine records on file with the military.  Reach out to your last military healthcare provider for records.

If all else fails or you’re short on time, get a blood draw.

If you’ve looked in all of the above locations or if you know you got shots as a child, but don’t have time to go through these sources, you can get a blood draw.

Request a measles (rubeola) titer from your healthcare provider.  You can get usually get your blood drawn in their office or take the order to a local lab draw station.  Results of this blood test for measles immunity are often complete within 48 hours.  You need to obtain a copy of the results showing a positive blood test, which means you are immune to the measles, and upload that into the online health portal.

If you do not have a healthcare provider, contact our office so we can assist you with other recommendations for obtaining an order to get this testing.

If you have located your immunization records, however discover you have documentation for only one MMR. You will need to get a second MMR administered or complete a blood test. See above information regarding a measles blood test.

To get a MMR vaccine:

• Visit your primary care doctor's office
• Visit your local pharmacy

**Please note that the clinician or pharmacist may state that one MMR vaccine is sufficient for an adult. However, Gonzaga follows the CDC guidelines located at this link, which states the following:

"Students at post-high school educational institutions who do not have evidence of immunity need two doses of MMR vaccine, separated by at least 28 days."

 

If you have located your immunization records and discover that you do not have any MMR dates. You will need to start the two-dose MMR series. Gonzaga requires two doses of measles (MMR) vaccine received after one year of age, at least one month apart.

To get a MMR vaccine:

• Visit your primary care doctor's office
• Visit your local pharmacy

**Please note that the clinician or pharmacist may state that one MMR vaccine is sufficient for an adult. However, Gonzaga follows the CDC guidelines located at this link, which states the following:

"Students at post-high school educational institutions who do not have evidence of immunity need two doses of MMR vaccine, separated by at least 28 days."

 

Gonzaga University requires two doses of measles (MMR) vaccine received after one year of age, at least one month apart.

If you discover your MMR vaccinations are not timed appropriately, you will need to either receive an additional MMR vaccine in order to have two doses of MMR appropriately timed or get a measles blood test done. See above information regarding a measles blood test.

If you decide to get the measles blood test and the results come back as negative (that you are NOT immune to the measles), you will need to start the 2-dose MMR series. 

Even if you have documentation of previously administered MMR vaccines, the negative measles blood test will nullify those previous MMR doses.