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Tips for Finding Old Immunization Records
(Adapted from IAC Express, the newsletter of the Immunization
Action Coalition http://www.immunize.org/)
How can I find old immunization records?
Many
people lose track of their immunization records and want to replace
this information in the fastest, least expensive way possible. Unfortunately,
there is no national organization that maintains immunization information,
so it can be a time consuming process. Here are some helpful tips
on finding old immunization records.
Tips for tracking down your child's previous shots:
- Check with
all your child's previous health care providers. Don't forget
visits to your local public health department or neighborhood
clinic.
- Look through
your old papers--sometimes immunization records are tucked away
in a baby book, or included on school or camp medical history
forms.
- Check with
any schools your child has attended to see if they have retained
a record of immunizations required for school entrance. Adolescents
might have received certain vaccines (such as hepatitis B vaccine)
in school or that might have been required for college entrance
or a job.
- Call (619)
692- 5656 or email at: sdir@immunization-sd.org
the San Diego Regional Immunization Registry (SDIR).
If your child is under six years of age and received vaccines
at a Public Health Center or community clinic in San Diego County,
he or she is probably in the SDIR. The registry is now a life-span
record and adding more health care providers and immunization
records daily, so contact SDIR.
- If your
child was vaccinated in another county in California, go to the
California Statewide Immunization Information System
(SIIS) website at http://www.ca-siis.org/reglist.html
to look for a contact in that county or region. If your child
lived in another state, go to the CDC website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/registry/contact-prog-tech.htm
for a list of state contacts.
- Sometimes
when physicians retire or a medical practice changes hands, old
patient records are sent to a medical record storage company.
It may be possible to obtain records directly from the company
for a fee.
Tips
for finding or reconstructing an adult's immunization history:
- If you are
a young adult, call (619) 692-5656 or email at: sdir@immunization-sd.org
the San Diego Regional Immunization Registry (SDIR).
SDIR has been in operation since 1997 so your record
may have been entered in this immunization information system.
- If you have
traveled out of the United States, you may have gotten travel
vaccines and have those vaccines and others documented on an International
Certificate of Vaccination.
- Ask your
parents or early child care provider if he/she has any record
of your childhood immunizations.
- Look through
any old papers saved from your childhood, such as a baby book.
- Ask your
high school, post-secondary school, college health service, or
previous employers (including the military) for dates of any immunizations,
if applicable.
- Understand
that it is often not possible to find childhood immunization records
of an adult. When you can't document having received a required
vaccine in the past, you may have to be re-vaccinated. Receiving
extra doses of these vaccines will not harm you. For a few diseases
and/or vaccines, you can have blood tests to see if you are immune.
Document any
information you discover in writing, including the vaccine name,
date given, and provider or clinic name. You can download an adult
immunization record card at:
http://www.immunize.org/adultizcards/adultizcard.pdf.
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