• Home
• About CDC
• Press Room
• A-Z Index
• Contact Us

Memorandum: Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons

Date: May 8, 2008

To: Civil Surgeons

From: Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ)

Subject: Revised Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons

This memorandum announces the release of the revised Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons.  These instructions supersede all previous vaccination-related “Technical Instructions,” “Updates to the Technical Instructions,” memoranda and letters to civil surgeons.

The revised Vaccination Technical Instructions are effective beginning July 1, 2008.

Any person who seeks admission to the United States as an immigrant or who seeks adjustment of visa status to that of permanent resident is required to show documentation of having received vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases, as recommended by the U.S. Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP).  Because of new ACIP vaccine recommendations, significant changes in the Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons have been made, as follows: 

1. Rotavirus vaccine should be given orally to children 6 through 32 weeks of age.
2. Hepatitis A vaccine should be given to children 12 through 23 months of age.
3. Tetravalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine should be given to persons 11 through 18 years of age.  Tetravalent meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine is an acceptable alternative.
4. Human papillomavirus vaccine should be given to girls and women 11 through 26 years of age.
5. Zoster vaccine should be given to persons 60 years of age or older.
6. Hepatitis B vaccine should be given to all applicants from birth through 18 years of age.
7. Influenza vaccine should be given annually to children 6 through 59 months of age; it continues to be required for adults 50 years of age or older.
8. Acellular pertussis-containing vaccines are available for use in persons at least 10 years of age.

The revised Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons are available at CDC/DGMQ’s website at  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/civil.htm.

Updates to the Technical Instructions are posted at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/updates.htm. Specific information on vaccines, including tables on age-appropriate vaccines and ACIP recommendations, are available at CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) website:  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines.  If in the future, the ACIP recommendations are changed or updated, the recommendations in the CDC/NCIRD website should be followed.

CDC/DGMQ has posted a link at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/civil.htm or “Frequently Asked Questions” about the revised Vaccination Technical Instructions.  If further guidance is needed, CDC’s DGMQ staff is available for consultation and may be reached at 404-498-1600.

Back to top ^