MA law 105 CMR220.000 requires all new and transfer students at post secondary institutions that provide housing to provide documentation of having received the meningococcal vaccine within the past 5 years or at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of classes. No student shall begin classes without this certificate unless the student qualifies for one of the exemptions allowed by the law:
(1) the student provides written documentation that he or she meets the standards for medical or religious exemption set forth in M.G.L. c. 76, ss 15C;
(2) the student, or the student’s parents or guardian if the student is a minor, signs the enclosed waiver stating that the student has received information about the risks and dangers of meningococcal disease, has reviewed the information provided and has elected to decline the vaccine (waiver exemption). A signed copy of this information and waiver form must be kept on file in Health Services.
The school immunization regulations were recently amended, in early 2010, to reflect the latest recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
Each student must also present a certificate of immunization that the student has also received the following immunizations (105 CMR 220.600):
- 2 doses of live measles, mumps and rubella vaccine(s) given at or after 12 months of age;
- 2 doses of live varicella vaccine (these 2 doses must be given at least 4 weeks apart beginning at or after 12 months of age) OR 2 doses 12 wks. apart age 1-12 yrs. of age OR history of disease
- 3 doses of Hepatitis B vaccine
- Tdap vaccine within the past 10 years
- Meningitis vaccine booster at > age sixteen or signed waiver on file.
Exemptions to Ma law 105 CMR 220.600:
- the student provides written documentation that he or she meets the standards for medical or religious exemption set forth in M.G.L. c. 76, ss 15C;
- in the case of measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and hepatitis B, the student presents laboratory evidence of immunity.
- in the case of varicella, the student presents a statement signed by a healthcare provider that the student has a reliable history of chicken pox disease.