To view the latest changes in the Immunization Requirements for School Entry students (effective August 1, 2011) click HERE.
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The Immunization Requirements listed below are in effect until the end of the 2010/11 school year.
TO: Superintendents of Schools, School Medical Advisors and
School Nurse Supervisors
FROM: Charlene Russell-Tucker, Associate Commissioner
Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)
Lynn Sosa, MD, Deputy State Epidemiologist
Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH)
DATE: June 25, 2010
SUBJECT: Reinstatement of Prekindergarten and Kindergarten School Immunization Entry Requirement for Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib) Vaccine
Hib Vaccine Supply
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in consultation with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Family Practitioners, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is recommending reinstatement of the booster dose of Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib) vaccine for children aged 12–15 months who have completed the primary series. Hib vaccine supply is now sufficient to institute active recall of patients in need of a booster dose of Hib vaccine. Health care providers were notified in March 2010 that they could resume administering the Hib booster dose to all children who had their booster dose deferred during the vaccine shortage. The full CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report updating the Hib booster dose recommendations can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5824a5.htm.
Reinstatement of Hib Booster Dose
The Hib booster dose is now once again required for school entry. Effective September 1, 2010, schools will resume enforcement of the Hib requirement of at least one dose of Hib-containing vaccine given on or after the first birthday for all children under 5 years of age. A one month catch up period is permissible for those children whose immunizations were deferred due to the shortage. Children who might have had their Hib booster dose deferred because of the vaccine shortage would likely have been born during the timeframe of September 2006 through July 2008. Please see the attached Simplified Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B) Vaccine Catch-up Schedule.
If you have any questions, please call the DPH Immunization Program at 860-509-7929.
CRT:sgk
cc: Mark K. McQuillan, Commissioner, CSDE
George A. Coleman, Deputy Commissioner, CSDE
Paul Flinter, Bureau Chief, CSDE
Stephanie Knutson, School Health Consultant, CSDE
Vincent Sacco, Immunization Program Manager, DPH
Attachment