New
York State
public health law requires that college and university students taking 6 or
more points provide documentation of immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella
(MMR) before their first term of study. There are several ways to document
immunity. The options are described on the Columbia
University MMR Form. The form must be completed and returned to 401 John
Jay Hall by August 31, 2006 for students arriving for the fall semester and by
February 1, 2007 for students arriving for the spring semester. Students may
contact the Health Services at Columbia (HSC) Immunization Records Office at hs-enrollment@columbia.edu for
more information about this requirement.
New York State public health law requires that
college and university students receive information from their institutions
about meningococcal meningitis and the vaccine that protects against most
strains of the disease that occur on university campuses. Students must
formally indicate their decision about being vaccinated. Columbia students must certify their
meningitis vaccination decision at https://ssol.columbia.edu/ssv/crt/menIntro.html.
Full instructions are given online, and the process takes two to three
minutes. Students arriving for the fall
semester must complete the certification by August 31, 2006 and those arriving
for the spring semester must complete the certification by February 1,
2007. Students must use their individual
University Network ID (UNI) and password to provide this certification, which
must be completed before the student will be permitted to register for classes.
HSC recommends that all students be properly immunized against or have immunity to the following: hepatitis B (three-dose series), varicella (chicken pox), tetanus diphtheria, and routine childhood immunizations. All vaccines are available at Primary Care Medical Services for nominal fees. Current fees, information about these vaccines, and risk factors for these diseases are all available at http://www.health.columbia.edu/docs/services/immunizations/index.html.