Immunization Requirements

Community Care Licensing cares about accurate and comprehensive file keeping for the adults as well as the children that are part of the Family Child Care Home (FCC).

All employees and volunteers in your facility also must be immunized against these diseases. We strongly recommend that all other adults living in your home (for example, your spouse) are also immunized, although it is technically not required if they never come into contact with the children. 

Community Care Licensing requires the Licensee to show proof of the following before getting license:

1. Proof of measles vaccine
2. Proof of pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine
3. Proof of flu shot (or letter stating you decline to get flu shot)
4. Negative TB (Tuberculosis) test

You also need to maintain vaccination records for all employees and volunteers, as outlined below. Failure to maintain accurate records will be treated like any other violation of licensing requirements.  

Influenza Vaccine:

1. Annual Requirement: Flu viruses change each year, which is why an annual vaccine is required.  The vaccine is usually available in the fall, and early vaccination is recommended in order to prevent the spread of the flu. Under this bill, employees and volunteers will need to show that they have been vaccinated between August 1 and December 1 of each year.
2. Opting out: Employees may decline to receive the influenza vaccine.
3. Record Keeping: Employers must have ONE of the following records for each employee/volunteer/adult:
• A copy of an immunization record for influenza dated between August 1 and December 1 of each year
• A statement from the employee’s physician that there is a medical reason not to vaccinate the employee
• A statement from the employee’s physician that the employee is already immune to influenza
• A signed statement from the employee stating that they have declined to be vaccinated against the flu

Pertussis (Whooping Cough):

1. Opting Out: No one can opt out of this vaccination for personal belief reasons
2. Record Keeping: Employers must have ONE of the following records for each employee/volunteer/adult:
• A copy of an immunization record for pertussis
• The childhood vaccine is called DTaP. The whooping cough booster vaccine for adolescents and adults is called Tdap. Both DTaP and Tdap protect against whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria.
• A statement from the employee’s physician that there is a medical reason not to vaccinate the employee
• A statement from the employee’s physician that the employee is already immune to pertussis.

Measles:

1. Opting Out: No one can opt out of this vaccination for personal belief reasons
2. MMR vaccine: Measles can be prevented with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. One dose of MMR vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus, and two doses are about 97% effective.
3. Record Keeping: Employers must have ONE of the following records for each employee/ volunteer/adult:
• A copy of an immunization record for measles
• A statement from the employee’s physician that there is a medical reason not to vaccinate the employee
• A statement from the employee’s physician that the employee is already immune to measles
• Proof that the employee was born before 1957 (according to the Advisory Council on Immunization Practices, “adults born before 1957 are generally considered immune to measles and mumps.”

TB (Tuberculosis):

Lastly, each adult living in your home needs to have a copy on file of a negative TB Test from the last year.

You can see the official document outlining these regulations here: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/sccphd/en-us/Residents/ized/schools-childcare/Documents/CASB792.pdf