7.2.0.1: Immunization Documentation

Child care facilities should require that all parents/guardians of children enrolled in child care provide written documentation of receipt of immunizations appropriate for each child’s age. Infants, children, and adolescents should be immunized as specified in the “Recommended Immunization Schedules for Persons Aged 0 Through 18 Years – United States” developed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Children whose immunizations are not up-to-date or have not been administered according to the recommended schedule should receive the required immunizations, unless contraindicated or for legal exemptions (1,2).

An updated immunization schedule is published annually in the AAP’s Pediatrics and in the CDC’s MMWR and should be consulted for current information. In addition to print versions of the recommended immunization schedules, the current child, adolescent, and catch-up schedules are posted on the Websites of the CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ and the AAP at http://www.aap.org/
immunization/.

RATIONALE

Routine immunizations at the appropriate age are the best means of protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases. Legal requirements for age-appropriate immunizations of children attending licensed facilities exist in almost all states (see http://www.immunize.org/laws/). Parents/guardians of children who attend unregulated child care facilities should be encouraged to comply with the most recent “Recommended Immunization Schedules” (2).

Immunization is particularly important for children in child care because preschool-aged children have the highest age-specific incidence or are at high risk of complications from many vaccine-preventable diseases (specifically, measles, pertussis, rubella, influenza, varicella [chickenpox], rotavirus, and diseases due to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcus) (3).

COMMENTS

Early education and child care settings present unique challenges for infection control due to the highly vulnerable population, close interpersonal contact, shared toys and other objects, and limited ability of young children to understand or practice good respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene. Parents/guardians, early childhood caregivers/teachers, and public health officials should be aware that, even under the best of circumstances, transmission of infectious diseases cannot be completely prevented in early childhood or other settings. No policy can keep everyone who is potentially infectious out of these settings (4).

TYPE OF FACILITY

Center, Early Head Start, Head Start, Large Family Child Care Home, Small Family Child Care Home

RELATED STANDARDS

1.7.0.1 Pre-Employment and Ongoing Adult Health Appraisals, Including Immunization
9.2.3.5 Documentation of Exemptions and Exclusion of Children Who Lack Immunizations

REFERENCES

1. American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Infectious Diseases. 2011. Policy statement: Recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedules – United States, 2011. Pediatrics 127:387-88.
2. Fiene, R. 2002. 13 indicators of quality child care: Research update. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. http://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/13-indicators-quality-child-care.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2009. CDC guidance on helping child care and early childhood programs respond to influenza during the 2009–2010 influenza season. Atlanta: CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/childcare/pdf/guidance.pdf.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2015. Recommended immunization schedules for persons aged 0-18 years – United States, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html