Immunizations?

<p>We just received a letter from Pitt yesterday saying that my son has not had all his vaccines. He has until November 1st, to either get them or submit proof that he has them, otherwise he will be unable to register for next semester. I have a few questions. He has a copy of his immunizations, complete history, with him. As far as I know, we did not miss any that he was required to have. He was never asked to submit this info thru the whole admissions process, now all of a sudden it seems to be an issue. First off has anybody else received any of these letters? Second, why has it taken Pitt 2 months into the semester to make us aware of this? I tried calling the number that the letter provided, but all I got was a recording saying that nobody was available until the 21st to answer any questions. They did give an alternative number, but everytime I have tried it is constantly busy. Can anybody shed any light on this? Thanks.</p>

<p>Did he have the new meningitis vaccine? I know my daughter had it, but I don’t know if it’s required by the state of Pennsylvania or not.</p>

<p>No, as far as I know he has not had the menangitis shot yet. But I know the mmr shot that is in question he has had, as he would not have been admitted to grade school without it. Just was wondering if this was a “blooper” on Pitts part, and if alot of these letters went out.</p>

<p>Didn’t your S have to submit a physical form* before moving in this fall? They probably asked for the immunization record as part of that. It sounds like a paperwork issue – your S needs to find / give a copy of his records to the correct person. Although if he hasn’t had the meningitis vaccine, he will either have to get one or sign a waiver.</p>

<p>*(My D had to fill out a very comprehensive physical / blood work form for Pitt Nursing. The wording of her paperwork led me to believe that each new student had some sort of required physical, but nurses needed extra things done/checked.)</p>

<p>@fuzzy1
Since nobody else has reported receiving a letter like this so far, I’m assuming that it’s not a widespread problem. The requirements seem to be more stringent for nursing students, which makes sense, but even for college of arts and sciences students we were asked to fill out a form listing all the shots and dates (no physical though). The form first arrived with the Pitt Start package, but we actually didn’t fill it out until later, when S checked into his dorm at the beginning of the school year. It’s not entirely clear to me from your post if your son has or hasn’t filled out that form. Either way, the easiest way to sort this out is to have your son go to the medical office with a copy of his immunization records. And while he’s at it, he may want to get a flu shot as well. With the flu season just around the corner and presumably living in close quarters it may be a good idea to get it. My son said it was very easy–he stopped by, paid $25 or something like that and was out of there in 10 min.</p>

<p>We got the same letter as well. I just faxed them his immunization records.</p>

<p>I am sure I sent this previously, not sure what happened but figured easiest thing was to send them.</p>

<p>Talked to son yesterday, said the got it straightened out. When we took him out in August I made sure he had a copy of his immunizations, as I could not figure out why we had not been asked anything about that yet. Oh well, alls well that ends well! Thanks for the replies.</p>

<p>Fuzzy1–If he did not have the meningitis vaccine, he should. It’s a scary disease that’s symptoms mirror the flu.</p>

<p>Yes, I agree. My daughter lost a high school friend to meningitis. Heartbreaking, to say the least.</p>