Verbally Declaring Chicken Pox

[mike777 0]

Hi,

Curious, according to Sieden's website

Are there any exceptions to written proof of immunization?

You may, verbally, provide the panel physician with a reliable history of having chickenpox in which case you will not be required to have the chickenpox / varicella vaccine nor provide antibody titer proof of immunity. You must have written proof for all other immunization requirements.

My wife had CP as a kid, so according to what's above, she should be able to just say, I had chicken pox as a kid. And she won't need the vaccine? And having no proof?

I say this because I think my wifes med records were destroyed as she hasn't been to her fam doc in over 10 years so it's bad enough we need to get MMR and tb shots again, I'm just trying to lessen the needed vaccines here.

Is this wise to just go in and say she had CP? Or has anyone had any cases where the doctors barked at them saying they need record of the shot.

[trailmix 77]

For the MMR - she could just get a titer test. She will probably need the tdap though, unless she has had one recently.

[sdw 10]

I myself am curious about this.

[mike777 0]

What's a titer test?

[sdw 10]

Blood work is drawn and then tested to check immunities.

Edited January 25, 2010 by sdw

[mike777 0]

Ohhh, that sounds like a wise idea to get.

Can she just walk into any clinic and get that done? How long do results take? Does it generally cost, or covered by ohip.

So this titer test is basically another way then to prove (maybe) if shes had things like MMR)

[trailmix 77]

What's a titer test?

It's a blood test that will determine if a person has antibodies against certain diseases - ie: if your wife had all her vaccinations already, as you state, then they should show up on that test.

Most doctors will not give someone MMR just because they request it - although someone here did find a travel clinic that was willing to do it, the other day.

My Husband just told them he had chicken pox btw.

How do I bring written proof of my immunizations?

You must provide the panel physician with a written record of your vaccine history. Ideally the written proof should list each dose of each vaccine you have been given -- the date (month, day, year) and who gave you the vaccine. You cannot simply tell the panel physician that you had vaccinations as a child. We cannot accept notes from your doctor like: "Vaccinations up to date" or "Does not require additional vaccines."

When no written vaccination history is available, you may present the Panel Physician with written laboratory proof of immunity in the form of **antibody titers. A titer report should be dated and either be on your doctor's letterhead or be a copy of the actual laboratory report. Your personal physician can arrange the necessary blood tests. However, depending upon where you live, test results may not be available for a number of weeks. When no written vaccination history is available, but you can recall receiving immunization injections, we strongly recommend you discussing having antibody titres to determine whether additional immunizations are medically necessary.

**Antibody Titer: This is a blood test that can be ordered by your doctor to determine if you have immunity to an infectious disease. Antibody titer tests are available for many of the diseases that regulations require you to be immunized against. In instances where you have no immunization records you do have an option of providing the Panel Physician with written copies of antibody titer test results showing immunity in order to avoid receiving a vaccination. Antibody titer blood tests may be covered by provincial medicare. In some jurisdictions antibody titer tests results may take a week or two to obtain. We suggest that you visit with your doctor as soon as you receive instructions from U.S. Immigration in order to discuss your immunization requirments.

Edited January 25, 2010 by trailmix

[mike777 0]

Does my wife need a family doctor or will any old clinic suffice?

[Lona.C. 16]

when I went trough this process few years ago ,

I had a titer done for chickenpox as my family DR didnt take my word for it ,

it came back possitive ( proving I had chickenpox )

and brought the resolts to the civial Dr in montreal it all went fine

[OBX 51]

Ohhh, that sounds like a wise idea to get.

Can she just walk into any clinic and get that done? How long do results take? Does it generally cost, or covered by ohip.

So this titer test is basically another way then to prove (maybe) if shes had things like MMR)

I had the titre tests done by my family MD, no charge. The results for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chicken pox) came back within a week. The results for tetanus and diphtheria had to be sent to a Public Health lab so they took an extra week. I simply took copies of these lab results to my medical and had no issues.

[mike777 0]

Hm, is there a tither catch all test, or do you have to get blood drawn for every immunity you want to check out.

[trailmix 77]

Does my wife need a family doctor or will any old clinic suffice?

My Husband had his done at a walk in clinic - and it's just the one blood test.

Edited January 25, 2010 by trailmix

[OBX 51]

Hm, is there a tither catch all test, or do you have to get blood drawn for every immunity you want to check out.

As I recall, I had 2 vials drawn. Most likely because they were being sent to two different labs.

[mike777 0]

Great, thanks for your help guys.

[CDAgirlMI 51]

Any Walk-In will do it. I had to go to a Walk-In because my family physician was 3hrs away, hehe.

I did the titres first, but they came back negative for immunity, so I had to get the vaccines. No charge, thanks to OHIP. Results were back within a week.

If vaccines are needed, just get the doctor or nurse administering the shot to give you proof of it(I got a perscription-pad note stating vaccine, date & signature).