Public health laws mandate students attending colleges and universities in every state to establish immunity to measles, mumps and rubella and to be well-informed about the danger of meningococcal disease. These directives typically employed on all students registered for six or more credits and graduates, undergraduates, commuter, resident, domestic, international students and cross enrollees are all included.

Colleges and universities strictly enforce compliance with these mandates. Students must submit proof of immunity and the meningitis response form to the Student Health Center within a month of their first class. Students, who do not submit the required information will have their registration cancelled, be excluded from class, removed from college housing and prohibited from further registration at the school. Student Health requires that students complete the college immunization form only and make sure it is signed and dated by their health care provider. If your physician attaches an immunization record from the office, registry or other document, the form must be signed by your physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner.

What vaccinations does one need before he or she heads off to college? A youngster starting college needs to consider several vaccinations. The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the meningococcal vaccine (MCV4) for all college freshmen less than 23 years of age residing in on-campus housing facility like in dormitories. This would help protect your daughter from the most common type of meningitis, an infection around the brain and spinal cord.

The second vaccine that should be considered is the new human papillomavirus virus (HPV) vaccine. This vaccine protects against 70 percent of all types of cervical cancer as well as 90 percent of the types of HPV that cause genital warts.

It’s recommended that an influenza vaccine be taken annually to protect against the flu. This vaccine is available as a nasal spray or injection. If she has not received a tetanus vaccination in the last two years, the new tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccine, which protects against all three diseases, should be deemed important. Teenagers are vulnerable to pertussis (whooping cough), which can lead to a protracted cough. Even if the vaccines cannot be regarded as 100 percent successful, they bear some minor side effects as opposed to their advantages.

Other vaccinations must be considered as a follow up, if they have not previously been fulfilled. These entail: two doses of the chicken pox (Varivax) vaccine; two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine; three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine; and two doses of the hepatitis A vaccine. Additional immunizations may be required based on the student’s major.