POLICY TITLE: Carnegie Mellon University Student Immunization
Policy
DATE OF ISSUANCE: This policy was approved by the President’s Council
on February 28, 2003.
ACCOUNTABLE DEPARTMENT/UNIT: Questions on policy content should be directed to Student Health Services, 8-2157.
Vaccine-preventable diseases continue to occur on American campuses and pose a significant threat to the public health of the campus community. Outbreaks not only impose a significant cost to infected individuals in terms of mortality and morbidity but also can be costly to the university by disrupting university activities.
Policy
Statement
The goal of the Student Health Services and the university is to provide adequate protection of the campus community against vaccine-preventable diseases by requiring students to be vaccinated against and/or screened for certain highly contagious diseases. This goal can best be achieved through a mandatory prematriculation immunization requirement. The following requirements are consistent with Pennsylvania State Law and with the recommendations of the American College Health Association, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Requirements for All Full-Time
Students
·
All entering full-time students born after 1956 must demonstrate
proof of immunity against measles, mumps and rubella by either providing dates
of inoculation of two doses of the measles vaccine and at least one dose of
mumps and rubella or providing blood titers that demonstrate immunity to these
infections or providing documentation from a physician of having had the
infection.
Additional Requirements
for Students Residing in
University Housing
·
All students residing in university housing must demonstrate
immunity against Hepatitis B by either providing documentation of having
initiated or completed the three dose vaccination series. The student is
expected to complete the series within six months of initiation of the series.
·
All students residing in university housing must provide
documentation of having been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis within
three years prior to enrollment in the university.
Additional
Requirements
for International Students
·
All full-time international students must provide documentation of
having had a PPD skin test to screen for tuberculosis within one year prior to
enrollment in the university regardless of prior BCG inoculation. If the results of the skin test are
positive, a chest x-ray is required.
Request for Waiver
·
A student may request a waiver from any vaccination for medical
reasons or if vaccination conflicts with personal or religious beliefs. Application for waiver is to be made in
writing to Student Health Services prior to the first day of classes in his/her
first semester of attendance at the university. In the case of an outbreak of a contagious disease on campus for
which the student has not been immunized, the university reserves the right to
ask the student to leave campus until the outbreak is over.
·
A student may request a waiver from tuberculin skin testing if the
student is from a country that has been identified by the Centers for Disease
Control as having low prevalence of tuberculosis.
Penalty for Noncompliance
·
If the student fails to comply with the immunization policy, the
Student Health Services will notify Enrollment Services who will place a hold
on the student’s registration until the requirements are met and assess a fee
of no more than $50 to the student’s account.
·
Additionally, if the student is a resident in university housing
and fails to comply with the immunization requirements, he/she will be removed
from housing.
Questions should be directed to Student Health Services, 8-2157.
The university complies with OSHA
regulations regarding occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens.
Questions regarding these regulations should
be directed to
Environmental Health & Safety, 8-8182.
Additional recommendations
A PPD skin test for tuberculosis is recommended for domestic students who have traveled to an area where tuberculosis is endemic. All students should have a booster dose of tetanus/diptheria every ten years after completion of the primary series.