Immunization Survey

Each year the Connecticut Department of Public Health Immunization Program conducts education-based immunization surveys, including the pre-kindergarten** (pre-K) through 12th grade school survey. These immunization surveys are used to determine the extent to which children, adolescents, and young adults in education in Connecticut are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. They collect school-level data on the number of attendees who have received required vaccines and the number who have submitted documentation to claim an exemption. Individual vaccine information on each student is not collected.

Data presented here are on completion of school-entry mandated vaccine series for children enrolled in kindergarten and 7th grade, on mandated influenza vaccination for children enrolled in pre-K, and on vaccination exemptions (medical and religious) for all children enrolled in grades pre-K through 12. School-mandated vaccine series for students enrolled in kindergarten are inactivated polio, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), hepatitis B, varicella and hepatitis A. Additional mandated vaccines for students enrolled in 7th grade include meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis). Influenza vaccine is a requirement for pre-K students who are 24 through 59 months of age. For each required vaccine children are categorized as either compliant or not compliant. These categories are not intended to be legal terms, but a simplified measure for survey purposes. Students are counted as compliant if they have submitted proof of immunity, such as vaccination records, or have submitted a valid exemption. Students are counted as not compliant if they have not submitted documented proof of immunity, are on a catch-up schedule, or have a doctor’s note verifying a scheduled appointment to receive vaccines.

Typically survey results for the current school year are available by the fall of the following year.