Notice of Revised Vaccination Criteria for U.S. Immigration

On November 13, 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted a Federal Register Notice revising the vaccination criteria for U.S. immigration. CDC will use these criteria for vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to decide which vaccines will be required for U.S. immigration. The criteria will be used at regular periods, as needed, by CDC.

The new vaccination criteria are:

• The vaccine must be age-appropriate* for the immigrant applicant
• The vaccine must protect against a disease that has the potential to cause an outbreak.
• The vaccine must protect against a disease that has been eliminated or is in the process of being eliminated in the United States.

*ACIP recommends vaccines for a certain age range in the general U.S. public. These ACIP recommendations will be used to decide which vaccines are age-appropriate for the general immigrant population.

These new criteria will be in effect as of December 14, 2009.

• Federal Register Notice: Criteria for Vaccination Requirements for U.S. Immigration Purposes [PDF – 5 pages] (On GPO.gov site)
• Fact Sheet [PDF – 1 page]
• Frequently Asked Questions

See also the Notice of Proposed Vaccination Criteria published on April 8, 2009.