New Student Immunization Requirements
If you are a new student, whose program involves patient contact or exposure to human blood, tissue or cell lines, you are required to submit certain immunization records and to acquire any missing vaccinations before enrollment at UCSF.
You should have received a new student packet from Student Health and Counseling Services. If you have not received your packet, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Read the New Student Letter
Read the New Student Immunization Letter 2011-2012 to understand your pre-entry requirements. Make sure to leave yourself enough time (approximately two months) to collect past medical information or obtain immunizations and titers. It may take time for past providers of care to mail or fax records to you, you may need immunizations that must be spaced out by at least a month, etc.
Step 2: Gather past documentation of immunizations, titers and PPD skin testing
Review the New Student Immunization Form 2011-2012.
The form contains a place to record data for all the requirements listed in the New Student Immunization Letter 2011-2012. You will need to collect records of past immunizations, titers and possibly TB testing as well as obtain healthcare services to address missing requirements. If you received these services outside the US, please leave extra time for receiving documentation.
Step 3: Make an appointment to get missing immunizations, titers or PPD skin testing
You will most likely need to obtain some healthcare services to complete this process. For example, you may need PPD skin testing, titers, or a Tdap immunization.
You will also need a provider to review and sign the New Student Immunization Form 2011-2012 validating the dates on which you received immunizations/titers/TB skin testing to meet the full battery of healthcare requirements. You should have copies of all past immunizations, titers and TB skin testing (PPD skin testing) to take to the provider you choose to obtain additional healthcare services. Present the past records to the provider so they can sign your New Student Immunization Form 2011-2012 validating your healthcare requirements.
Bring a copy of the New Student Immunization Letter 2011-2012 with you to your appointment to outline the requirements to your provider. Immunization and TB screening requirements are more stringent for healthcare workers than the general population and your provider may request details on the requirements.
VERY IMPORTANT - Keep a copy of your past records for your own files! You may be asked to present them again to certain rotations who will only accept original documentation to meet their healthcare screening processes. This includes any titer results from the lab.
Step 4: Have your provider sign the New Student Immunization Form 2011-2012 and keep a copy
Once you have received healthcare services to address all requirements and your New Student Immunization Form 2011-2012 is complete, have your primary care provider sign your form. Please ask the medical office to include any official stamp they have on the documentation so the information is legible.
Make sure the provider keeps a copy of the form for their records. SHCS calls and validates a certain percent of submitted documentation. If we contact your provider, the completed form will be helpful to reference.
Step 5: Enter your immunization and titer dates online
Enter your data from the Immunization Form into the secure online Immunization Portal, which can be assessed by logging into the Student Portal and visiting the ‘My Health’ tab.
Log-in to the Student Portal with your MyAccess username and password.
If you do not have a MyAccess username and password, you can register for one using your UCSF email address online by visiting the MyAccess site. If you have problems with logging in, please call UCSF ITS Help Desk at 415-514-4100, option 2.
The online Immunization Portal will not allow you to submit your data until ALL requirements are entered. If your information is incomplete, you will receive an error message. Once you have submitted your information, you cannot go back and change it. If you discover an error after submitting your data, please call SHCS at (415) 476-1281.
All information is treated confidentially and considered to be part of your medical record. It will be stored in a secure, confidential electronic medical record system accessible only to Student Health and Counseling staff. This information is collected solely for the purposes of assessing and reducing your risk of acquiring a communicable disease.
Step 6: Mail your signed New Student Immunization Form 2011-2012 to SHCS.
Make a copy of the signed form for your records and mail the original to:
UCSF Student Health & Counseling
New Student Information
500 Parnassus Ave., MU P8 level, room 005
San Francisco, CA 94143-0722
Step 7: To verify your information has been processed, check your "SH Hold" status in the SAA Student Portal.
Check your "SH Hold" (Student Health hold) status online in the SAA Immunization Portal. UCSF places a hold on your SAA Student Portal account until your pre-entry immunization requirements are met. This hold blocks you from registering for class. The hold will be released when your healthcare requirements are submitted and verified. See the “Holds” tab in the portal.
Please wait until 60 days prior to the start date of your program to check your hold status on the SAA Immunization Portal. The “Holds” tab will indicate if your “SH Hold” has been released. If you continue to see a “Student Health (SH)” for longer than 2 business days after your initial inquiry, please contact Student Health & Counseling to check on your status.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens if I do not submit my information by the time I try to register?
A: You must submit documentation of your health requirements and allow time for Student Health to process the information before you register. Your school will not allow you to register unless all requirements are met.
Q: What if I have a medical condition that interferes with my ability to meet the requirements?
A: If you have a medical condition that is of concern related to the requirements, please call Student Health and Counseling Services at 415) 476-1281.
Q: Where do I mail my completed Immunization Form 2011-12?
A: Mail the signed form to:
Student Health and Counseling Services
New Student Information
500 Parnassus
MU, P8 level, room 5
San Francisco, CA 94143-0722
Q: What if I didn’t get my form signed or don’t have somewhere to go for services?
A: SHCS can perform this service for you for a fee if you are in San Francisco. Be careful not to wait until the last minute as the process can take a while. Your local public health department is another low cost option.
Fees:
Signed, but incomplete form $85 + cost of titers/tests/immunizations
Unsigned form $150 + cost of titers/tests/immunizations
Q: Will any of my TB or immunization data impact my admissions status?
A: No! This data will not be reviewed by your school. SHCS only reports if you are in compliance or out of compliance. Medical history, such as being a chronic Hepatitis B carrier, does not impact your ability to participate in clinical rotations.
Q: The form says I need a TB test within the 3 months before school starts. Is this 3 months before orientation or before my first day of classes?
A: You need two TB skin tests, one placed and read within 3 months of your orientation date.
Q: Since I have not had annual TB screening, I need to get a two-step TB test. But I am confused as to when I need to get the second test. Is it 7 days after the first TB placement or after the reading?
A: If you have not had annual TB screening, you do need to get a two-step test. The second test in a two-step test needs to be placed 7 days after the first test has been placed, not read.
Q: I received a two-step TB skin test at Kaiser and I only have one reading date. What should I do?
A: In general, Kaiser’s policy regarding a two-step TB test is to record only the last and final reading. If you have received a two-step TB test at Kaiser, please email shs@ucsf.edu or call 415-476-1281 and speak to a nurse.
Q: What are titers? Why should I them?
A: A positive titer can fulfill many of the requirements because it is a blood test that indicates that you have the disease antibody in your bloodstream. This indicates that you’ve received the vaccine or had the disease in the past and are immune.
Q: I have had two doses of the Hepatitis B vaccine but I keep getting an error when I try to submit my information, why?
A: If you have had two doses of Hepatitis B vaccine, but it’s been more than 6 months since your second dose, you are due for a third dose and a titer. You must obtain a third Hepatitis B dosage and a titer to complete the requirement.
Q: I have received Hepatitis B in the past, but I can’t find records of my immunization dates.
A: For Hepatitis B, we do require that you have records of your immunizations and get a titer. Please obtain a titer and then email shs@ucsf.edu or call 415-476-1281 to talk to a nurse about receiving an override for this requirement.
Q: Why isn’t my hold released? I’ve completed and submitted all my immunization data.
A: You must wait until 30 days before the start date of your program to check your hold status. You should also allow two weeks after mailing your form to verify your hold has been released before calling Student Health & Counseling. With hundreds of students to verify and clear, it may take a few weeks for your clearance to appear on the website.
