Question about Polio Vaccine IPV

[Tachymeter]

So I thought that I had my polio vaccine records, but I don't. Now I'm not sure if I had them. My school requires that I have it. All I need is a booster if I've had the shots before, but since I can't find records I'll need to get the shot series. It takes an entire year to get it done, so I'm thinking I just need proof that I started it and finish it up during the school year. Is that how it normally works? I'm going to email the school to find out but I'm just checking if that's how most places work.

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[DrMidlife]

From a practical standpoint, polio immunity starts to matter when you're dealing with patients from areas that are still endemic, such as India and Nigeria. Even then, there are a total of 500 new cases per year. The odds of running into recent immigrants from endemic areas, in Yakima, is awfully low.

More to the point, are you even seeing patients 1st year? If not, then by all means you have a year to work on it.

Here's the CDC's page on polio and its vaccine, for more info: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/polio/default.htm

Not all schools are requiring the vaccine. Nova doesn't, LECOM-B does, for example. (...because Bradenton is a teeming mass of recent immigrants [and subsequent salsa dancing].)

 

[group_theory]

So I thought that I had my polio vaccine records, but I don't. Now I'm not sure if I had them. My school requires that I have it. All I need is a booster if I've had the shots before, but since I can't find records I'll need to get the shot series. It takes an entire year to get it done, so I'm thinking I just need proof that I started it and finish it up during the school year. Is that how it normally works? I'm going to email the school to find out but I'm just checking if that's how most places work.

Check with your undergraduate college. You might have had a pre-admission health form filled out (by your doctor) and submitted to your college prior to enrollment - there is a good chance a copy of your immunization record is among them.

Check with your school district where you went for high school - see if they still have your records (and more importantly if they have your immunization records)