Vaccine Records (UK)

[bettish101 1]

Hey everyone, 

I'm midway through the application for an IR1 and at the stage of attending my visa medical and document review (in two weeks) followed by my interviews (two further weeks). 

I'm having a lot of trouble obtaining my vaccine records (except COVID, which I have x 3). The majority of my required vaccines were administered in the early 90s and while I was there, I was under 2 and have no recollection, let alone records. My parents don't recall being given physical records and if they were, they don't have them (we even checked my red book - nada!). None of the NHS apps (either official NHS apps or Patient Access) have records for my vaccinations except COVID, even the more recent ones done in the 00s. 

On the advice of my GP surgery, I filed a Subject Access Request for my full medical records and last night (after the full 28 days) they gave me up to 2015. This doesn't cover the relevant period. I don't now have time to file another Subject Access Request before my Medical appt and I have a strong suspicion that even if I did, the NHS does not have my handwritten vaccination records from 1993.

I know I can get the jabs there, but I'm going to need so many simultaneously (an entire childhood's worth, basically the full list required by the US) that I'm concerned they won't be able to complete them all in one appointment and it will set my other appointments at Nine Elms back. 

Has anyone else faced similar? Any suggestions on where else I can try to find my medical records? 

My other potential plan is to find a travel clinic that can start doing them ASAP and take those records to my Visa Medical, rather than risking doing them all on the day. 

(In case anyone asks, yes, I'm extremely confident that I was definitely actually vaccinated! My mum works in healthcare so she's very pro vaccinations. I just can't prove it based on available records.)

[OldUser 8,026]

7 hours ago, bettish101 said:

I know I can get the jabs there, but I'm going to need so many simultaneously (an entire childhood's worth, basically the full list required by the US) that I'm concerned they won't be able to complete them all in one appointment and it will set my other appointments at Nine Elms back. 

 

Some vaccines are not administered after certain age. Civil Surgeon will waive those as not applicable.

[bettish101 1]

Yeah, I've consulted the list and know I don't need (for example) the meningitis, rota and pneumo jabs because of my age. That still leaves me with TDAP/P, hepatitis, MMR, varicella (not given in the UK routinely so I was expecting to need to get this one) etc. It's just a lot to do in one day and I'm fretting that it'll slow my application. 

[OldUser 8,026]

28 minutes ago, bettish101 said:

Yeah, I've consulted the list and know I don't need (for example) the meningitis, rota and pneumo jabs because of my age. That still leaves me with TDAP/P, hepatitis, MMR, varicella (not given in the UK routinely so I was expecting to need to get this one) etc. It's just a lot to do in one day and I'm fretting that it'll slow my application. 

You can call civil surgeon's office and ask what would happen. I don't remember exactly what I needed to complete my medical, but it was also 3-4 jabs. All issued within a span of seconds. I'm still alive. Medical didn't take any longer because of jabs.

You can get some of them at CVS / Walgreens ahead of time too.

 

Good luck!

Edited yesterday at 03:30 PM by OldUser

[appleblossom 3,389]

Just now, bettish101 said:

Yeah, I've consulted the list and know I don't need (for example) the meningitis, rota and pneumo jabs because of my age. That still leaves me with TDAP/P, hepatitis, MMR, varicella (not given in the UK routinely so I was expecting to need to get this one) etc. It's just a lot to do in one day and I'm fretting that it'll slow my application. 

 

Varicella will be waived as it’s not given in the UK. 

 

It won’t slow your application if you have it done at the medical, myself and my family all had to have several jabs each which were done on the day. It’s not cheap though so if you can get them done via your GP instead ahead of it, that would save some cash. You can also get a titre test done to check for immunity, but I’d think that would delay things.

 

Best of luck. 

[bettish101 1]

40 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

Varicella will be waived as it’s not given in the UK. 

 

It won’t slow your application if you have it done at the medical, myself and my family all had to have several jabs each which were done on the day. It’s not cheap though so if you can get them done via your GP instead ahead of it, that would save some cash. You can also get a titre test done to check for immunity, but I’d think that would delay things.

 

Ah, thanks, that's good to know. 

My GP is working six weeks out for appts and I'm two weeks from med visa appointment, so I think I might need to abandon hope of GP assisting me here and just stump up for whatever jabs become necessarily. But it's reassuring to know it's not unusual to need multiple jabs and it won't slow things!

[yuna628 9,752]

1 hour ago, bettish101 said:

Yeah, I've consulted the list and know I don't need (for example) the meningitis, rota and pneumo jabs because of my age. That still leaves me with TDAP/P, hepatitis, MMR, varicella (not given in the UK routinely so I was expecting to need to get this one) etc. It's just a lot to do in one day and I'm fretting that it'll slow my application. 

You only need the vaccines that are age appropriate for you. You could go and get any of these at your doctor or at a pharmacy of your choice. Take proof of receiving them to your medical. Do you recall having chickenpox as a child? The vaccine is not really available in the UK so that will be waived. Hepatitis is a multi-shot course which needs to be separated between intervals longer than the time you have. Getting the first will get you a pass. If you'd like to complete the series in the future, I'd again consult your primary care or pharmacy either there or in the US. Don't leave the medical without having any missing and make sure the form is marked complete, just keep in mind it will be expensive. 

 

As for getting them at once, my husband had quite few that he got done at his doctor ahead of time - that included an additional MMR that he actually didn't need as he likely had some immunity from a prior infection. With the exception of feeling crummy a few days, tetanus shot usual culprit, he was fine afterwards.

Edited yesterday at 04:26 PM by yuna628

[SL2024 142]

1 hour ago, appleblossom said:

 

Varicella will be waived as it’s not given in the UK. 

 

It won’t slow your application if you have it done at the medical, myself and my family all had to have several jabs each which were done on the day. It’s not cheap though so if you can get them done via your GP instead ahead of it, that would save some cash. You can also get a titre test done to check for immunity, but I’d think that would delay things.

 

Best of luck. 

 

Looks like Boots has a Varicella vaccine - https://www.boots.com/online/pharmacy-services/chickenpox-vaccination-service?srsltid=AfmBOop8DfJBAlwnNDK8aFCjS1Ba5gfNWxuZ4sJfY88aaSPFVSWbZeDR - if they wanted to get it privately.

 

I agree with you though that OP should try and get these vaccinations before the medical with their GP Surgery to save money or get them on the day of the medical for a fee. I asked my GP Surgery about which ones they did offer (just in case) and mine said they didn't really offer any of the ones that I might need. I decided to just let the medical staff on the day of my medical tell me which vaccinations I needed. I ended up getting a Tetanus Booster and Hepatitis B vaccine and I personally was happy to pay the fee.

 

The Covid booster I got at Boots - Visa Medicals were really good as they offered to hold onto my medical file so I had time to get my Covid booster as there were 6 weeks between my medical and interview. Once I had got that I sent over the relevant proof of vaccination and they updated my medical file and marked it as complete before sending it to the embassy.

 

Might as well get the vaccines all sorted out before you travel to the USA rather than hold off and still have it on your to do list after travelling over.

 

 

[appleblossom 3,389]

1 minute ago, SL2024 said:

 

Looks like Boots has a Varicella vaccine - https://www.boots.com/online/pharmacy-services/chickenpox-vaccination-service?srsltid=AfmBOop8DfJBAlwnNDK8aFCjS1Ba5gfNWxuZ4sJfY88aaSPFVSWbZeDR - if they wanted to get it privately.

 

Not needed for London though, so no point in paying for it IMO. I was all ready with photos of my kids with chickenpox spots on ready to show the doc (as none of us had it on our medical records), but wasn’t even asked. It was just ticked as not required automatically which seems to be the norm for the UK. 

[SL2024 142]

1 minute ago, appleblossom said:

 

Not needed for London though, so no point in paying for it IMO. I was all ready with photos of my kids with chickenpox spots on ready to show the doc (as none of us had it on our medical records), but wasn’t even asked. It was just ticked as not required automatically which seems to be the norm for the UK. 

 

I agree - was just an option if the OP needed it but yeah I didn't need it either. I feel like the majority of people usually have had Chickenpox at some point.

 

@Lee Thacket - didn't you need to get the Varicella vaccine or did that get sorted out in the end?

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

In the absence of vaccination records, what you need is a titre test which will tell you what vaccines you have been administered. You can use this as proof of vaccinations.

 

If report shows you don’t have any of them, you can arrange to take those.

 

That is what I did coming from Canada. It was covered by provincial healthcare, so didn’t have to pay a dime. Those vaccinations that require multiple doses, proof of first dose is sufficient.

 

My advice would be to take any vaccines that comes up negative on the report even if you don’t need it for immigration, as it would likely be covered by NHS and may not be free / covered by insurance in US. Take the advice of your doctor of course… 

[Lee Thacket 68]

7 hours ago, SL2024 said:

 

I agree - was just an option if the OP needed it but yeah I didn't need it either. I feel like the majority of people usually have had Chickenpox at some point.

 

@Lee Thacket - didn't you need to get the Varicella vaccine or did that get sorted out in the end?

 

I was not able to get the varicella vaccine in the UK. I have no recollection of ever having had it.

 

My local Health and Human Services office gave me the varicella vaccine along with some others. HHS will usually charge less than a clinic providing immigration medicals.

 

As from @From_CAN_2_US says the best option is get as many as possible done on the NHS.