Vaccine Records

Have you contacted the health department? Florida has a data base for vaccines. Even when I moved here I gave a copy to my sons and it was out in the system. And for my daughter I've never seen a hard copy of hers. How frustrating for you though!

If you paid the fee to get the records, and they didn't send you the records, then why not call them and get the records?

A similar thing happened to us, only our pediatrician retired and sold his practice to someone else. We went to the new office to get our records, and it turned out the records had been lost. Fortunately, my daughter's baby records had been with another pediatrician altogether, so we were able to get a copy of those records, but everything that happened from the time she was 3-6 was missing (in other words, all of her kindergarten shots). Okay, I figured the school would have it, right? Well, the school had moved to a bigger location, and apparently my daughter's vaccination record was lost in the shuffle. It was absolutely nowhere. I couldn't be 100% certain that she'd had all her shots (I thought she had, but...?). We ended up just getting her Kindergarten shots over again when she was going into 2nd grade. Our pedi assured us that if she had already been vaccinated for all those things, no harm would come from it, and if she had missed any vaccines, this second go-around would cover it. She's going into 6th now, and is as healthy as a horse, so it all worked out in the end.

So, I'd say if you can get your hands on those records (especially since you paid the $75 fee), do that first. And if not, just get her re-vaccinated. Another thought, would your insurance company have a copy of the records, maybe? Or at least a record of what they paid the doctor for?

You can have titers drawn to prove she has immunity to many of the things she was vaccinated against (varicella, Hep B, MMR, etc). This is what I had to do when I started working at a hospital, since my childhood records were gone. A blood draw is no fun, but it is better than re-vaccinating. Talk to your ped and the school to see what exactly they need. Some schools can let you sign a waiver to not vaccinate, in this case she IS vaccinated but you just don't have the records.

Is the company that holds the records still in business? I would contact them for updated records. It might be worth it to pay the fee for these kids.

I would also talk to both his pediatrician and the school. You may be able to qualify by checking titers or getting select vaccinations redone. For example, my DD needed an MMR to attend school, but the chicken pox vax was not mandatory. Figure out exactly what they would need boosters of if you can't prove they've had them any other way and ONLY get those shots if you have to. I had to get my DD's MMR again because it was 1 week before her first birthday the first time and the county wouldn't accept it. You may also be able to apply for an exemption with the district or an affidavit from the pediatrician that the clinic went under, but she knows the child has had at least x vaccines.

I guess this is a lesson to all of us to print them out periodically. I frankly don't have any of my childhood records anymore and when I traveled out of country, I got boosters because I couldn't prove when I had gotten them. I know I was up to date enough to go to college, but beyond that, it's all a mess.

ETA: If you paid the fees and they didn't give you full records, then I would either demand full records or a refund.

You can just sign a waiver form at the school saying you don't believe in vaccinations and they don't ask for proof. Otherwise, if you are going to the same doctor that KNOWS the shots were done, can't he just stamp a new book so it's up to date? I don't know but I don't thinks a big deal and there must be a way around it. Good luck.

I also live in Texas. My son's pediatrician submits all vaccines to Immutrac, which is kept by the state of Texas, so there is a record at the state level. You can also contact the "Texas Dept. of State Health Services." http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/school/ They may be able to help you get the records. Also, all my insurance receipts are online and each visit states which vaccines my son received, so I can look it up that way. If you pay out of pocket and don't have any personal records, not sure what you could do, other than requesting they check the kids blood for immunities (titre). In Texas, you are able to sign a waiver, which you must request from the state, also on the above website. I have many friends who sign the waiver if their kids are missing or not up to date on immunizations, just so the school won't pester them for the records. My daughter was not fully immunized according to the schedule until she was 7, so I submitted the waivers to the school until she was up to date. I also find it strange that they are able to destroy the records after 2 years, because I thought legally you have to keep medical records for 7 years. If the records are still available somewhere, I would persist until I could find someone who could help me get them. I didn't have my vaccination records when I attended college and I had to go get shots when I was in graduate school! You will save yourself and your kids alot of hassle, if you try and track them down again. Good luck!

Hmmmm. In Oklahoma when the kids get shots they go into a central data base. All our docs have access to them by just putting in the kiddo's name and birth information.

Sad Texas doesn't do that. I'd sure get copies and make sure I had a dozen copies in several different places like grandpa's, grandma's, Uncle Bob's, best friends, and at least one place out of town in case your town got destroyed....

In Ohio I know that the hospital gives you a shot record for your personal records when they give them the first shot before leaving the hospital and you have to keep it for school and such. But I know drs have their own records as well as us. So if something every happens I should be able to get them from her dr

I'd check with your insurance company. I would imagine that they were billed for the immunizations so they should have the records of payment. Perhaps with that information you pediatrician can back fill his or her own records, just like he or she would if you were switching from another practice.

I think you should check with the state department of public health - they may have back-up records. I can't believe it was legal for the records to be destroyed if there was no back-up. You paid the fee and didn't get records? I think you'd be able to fight that. $75 seems like a huge fee to pay for copies of records. I wonder if there's something you can do legally through the health department or through the attorney general's office of consumer affairs, which covers companies that scam or over-charge consumers.

Here in Canada all vaccination records go into the public health database. I imagine it would be the same down there. Contact pubic health.

If you paid the fee, contact the place you paid and ask what happened. If you can't get them and you know she is up to date, just give the approximate dates when you fill out forms for school or camp. You can look up the recommended schedule and interval for each vaccine on line. At least in my state, no one ever asks to see an official record of the vaccines. I wouldn't worry too much.

in Michigan the department of community health keeps a central record of childhood vaccines. so things like this don't happen.

can you check with the county or state health depts. to see if they can find records for you?

You have several options- either sign the piece of paper that says you object to vaccinations. Then you don't have to worry about records. Pay the fee to get your child's records (my personal opinion is the best option). Or have titres drawn to prove your child is vaccinated. Your choice how to proceed.