Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

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Individuals

Colorado Immunization Requirements

 

The Colorado State Board of Health decides which shots are required for school and childcare. You can find the list of immunizations currently required for your child here. A parent or guardian may exempt their child from any or all required shots based on medical, religious, or personal beliefs by signing an exemption form. Interested in reading the Rules of the Colorado Board of Health pertaining to immunizations? Click here! portable document format

 

Not sure what shots your child needs?

 

You can access the separate immunization schedules for 0-6 year olds and 7-18 year olds by clicking here. portable document format These immunization schedules are approved and recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

 

Is your child’s immunization record lost? Here are some tips for tracking down your child’s previous shots:

 

  • Check with your child’s current healthcare provider as they may participate in the Colorado Immunization Information System. If your child has seen multiple healthcare providers for shots and if these providers participate in CIIS, then your current healthcare provider may be able to provide you with a consolidated immunization record for your child.
  • Check with ALL of your child’s previous healthcare providers. Do not forget visits your child may have made to local public health agencies or neighborhood clinics.
  • Look through your old papers – sometimes immunization records are tucked away in a baby book or included on school or camp medical history forms.
  • Check with any schools, childcare facilities or summer camps that your child has attended to see if they have kept a record of immunizations required for school entrance. Adolescents may have even received certain vaccines in school.
  • If your child is a teenager, do not forget about any vaccines which may have been required for college entrance or a job.
  • Sometimes when physicians retire or a medical practice changes ownership, old patient records are sent to a medical record storage company. It may be possible to obtain records directly from the company for a fee.

 

No matter where you may find your child’s immunization record, document any information you discover in writing, including the vaccine name (for example, MMR), the date the vaccine was given, and the provider or clinic name which administered the vaccine. You can download a free, blank immunization record card to use in documenting this information here portable document format

 

Are you unsure of your adult immunization history? Here are some tips for reconstructing your adult immunization record:

 

  • Ask your parent or early caregiver if he or she has any record of your childhood immunizations.
  • Look through any old papers saved from your childhood, such as a baby book.
  • Ask your high school, post-secondary school, college health service, or previous employers (including the military) for dates of any immunizations.
  • Check with any travel clinics you may have visited prior to traveling internationally.
  • Understand that it is often not possible to find childhood immunization records of an adult. When you cannot document having received a required vaccine in the past, you may have to be revaccinated. Receiving extra doses of these vaccines will not harm you. For a few diseases and/or vaccines, you can have a blood test performed to see if you are already immune.

 

No matter where you may find your old immunization record, document any information you discover in writing, including the vaccine name, the date the vaccine was given, and the provider who administered the vaccine. You can download a free, blank adult immunization record card here portable document format.