Section 1200-14-01-.29 - IMMUNIZATION AGAINST CERTAIN DISEASES PRIOR TO SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN TENNESSEE(1) Every nursery school, day care center, Head Start center, Kindergarten, or other pre-school, day care or grades Kindergarten through twelve of any public, private, or church related school shall obtain proof of adequate immunization against diphtheria, measles (rubeola), pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, rubella, mumps, hepatitis B and tetanus on the form prescribed by the Commissioner (unless otherwise exempted by law) prior to admitting a child. It shall be the duty of the school to enforce the provisions of this regulation, subject to the exemptions as set out in T.C.A. § 49-6-5001(b).(2) The state and county health departments are authorized to provide proof of immunization to the admissions officer of any school in the state of Tennessee. For the purpose of this subsection, "school" shall include nursery schools, Kindergartens, other pre-schools, day care centers and facilities, after school day care facilities, grades Kindergarten through twelve of any public, private or church-related schools, vocational schools, technical schools, colleges and universities. The state and county health departments are further authorized to provide proof of immunization to physicians who are evaluating a school-aged patient's immunization status.(3)(a) The Department shall publish an official Certificate of Immunization ( hereinafter "Certificate"). A Certificate may be signed by an individual licensed by the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Osteopathic Examiners, or an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse licensed by the Board of Nursing (hereinafter "providers") or by a public health nurse employed by a local health department. The Certificate also may be qualified as complete without the signature of a provider if a certificate that has been validated by the Tennessee Immunization Registry is printed from the Registry, indicating the patient's immunization records in the Registry meet all criteria for compliance with state requirements for that patient's age and grade. The Certificate may include space to record vaccinations which are routinely recommended but not required by law. Certificates shall be available online to authorized users of the Tennessee Immunization Registry or in hard copy to providers from local health departments or from the Department's central office. Tennessee Immunization Registry validated certificates may be produced by all authorized users of the Registry.(b) As stated in subparagraph (3)(a), a certificate of immunization shall be considered "signed" by a qualified provider when it bears either 1. A hard copy signature of a qualified provider; or2. An electronic validation of completed requirements, appropriate for the child's age and education level, generated by the Tennessee Immunization Registry pursuant to a secure login process.(4) For each disease identified in these rules, the Department adopts the recommended immunization schedule or the "catch-up" immunization schedule (when applicable), published by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). An individual shall be presumed to be immunized against a particular disease when the individual has been immunized in a manner consistent with the recommendations of ACIP for that disease. The Department shall make the schedule available on its website and at local health departments, and shall revise the schedule from time to time in accordance with revisions published by ACIP, and shall publish the effective dates of any revisions.(5) For children aged between 8 weeks and 19 months of age enrolling in child care facilities, a provider shall issue a Certificate showing a child is age-appropriately immunized in accordance with the ACIP schedule at the time of enrollment. For these children, a provider shall issue an updated Certificate at no later than 19 months of age.(6) A provider may issue a Temporary Certificate for a child who has not received all required vaccines, but is in the process of completing required immunizations. A Temporary Certificate must have an expiration date that is one month after the date the next required immunization is due according to the minimum acceptable ("catch-up") dose interval published on the Official Immunization Schedule. An expired Certificate is not valid proof of immunization. The school shall obtain a current Certificate no later than the expiration date of a Temporary Certificate.(7) A provider shall certify adequate immunization against measles, mumps and rubella for admission into any child care facility and grades Kindergarten through twelve. For purposes of this paragraph adequate immunization is defined as: (a) For children 12 months of age or older admitted to a child care facility, one dose of vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella administered no earlier than 4 days before the first birthday; or(b) For children admitted to grades Kindergarten through twelve, two doses of vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella, administered a minimum of 28 days apart and no earlier than 4 days before the first birthday; or(c) For children 12 months of age or older, laboratory evidence of immunity against each disease.(8) A provider shall certify adequate immunization against Haemophilus influenza type B ("Hib") for any child under the age of five years entering into any child care facility.(9) A provider shall certify adequate immunization against varicella, or a history of varicella disease, prior to admission of a child aged 12 months or older in licensed child care facilities. For purposes of this paragraph, adequate immunization is defined as: (a) One dose of varicella vaccine administered no earlier than 4 days before the child's first birthday; or(b) Laboratory evidence of immunity; or(c) A history verified by a physician, advanced practice nurse, physician's assistant or public health nurse employed by a local health department, of varicella disease. Documentation of the past illness is not required to confirm a history of disease;(10) A provider shall certify adequate immunization against varicella, or a history of the disease, prior to a child's entry into Kindergarten.(11) A provider shall certify adequate immunization against varicella for any child entering Kindergarten, and for new enrollees into any school. For purposes of this paragraph, adequate immunization is defined as one of the following: (a) Two doses of varicella vaccine; administered at least 28 days apart and no earlier than 4 days before the child's first birthday; or(b) Laboratory evidence of immunity; or(c) A history verified by a physician, advanced practice nurse, physician's assistant or public health nurse employed by a local health department, of varicella disease. Documentation of the past illness is not required to confirm a history of disease;(12) Effective July 1, 2010, a provider shall certify adequate immunization against pneumococcal disease for enrollment of any child under the age of five years into any child care facility.(13) Effective October 1, 2010, a provider shall certify continued adequate immunization against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis for any child entering the 7th grade (or, in the case of students in ungraded classrooms, any child age 13). For the purposes of this paragraph, adequate immunization is defined as a complete primary tetanus and diphtheria-containing vaccine series and a dose of vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis administered at or after age 10 years.(14) Effective July 1, 2010, a provider shall certify adequate immunization against hepatitis A for any child aged 18 months or over, but under five (5) years, enrolling in child care facilities. For purposes of this paragraph, adequate immunization is defined as (a) One dose of hepatitis A vaccine; or(b) Documented laboratory evidence of immunity.(15) Effective July 1, 2011, a provider shall certify adequate immunization against hepatitis A for any child enrolling in Kindergarten. For purposes of this paragraph, adequate immunization is defined as (a) Two doses of hepatitis A vaccine; or(b) Documented laboratory evidence of immunity.(16) Unless exempted by law, any new full-time enrollee of a higher education institution with an enrollment greater than two hundred students who is not enrolled as a full-time distance learning student shall present proof of adequate immunization against the following diseases: (a) Measles, provided that this requirement shall only apply to those students born on or after January 1, 1957; for purposes of this subparagraph, adequate immunization is defined as: 1. Two doses of measles-containing vaccine, administered at least 28 days apart and no earlier than 4 days before the first birthday; or2. Laboratory evidence of immunity.(b) Mumps, provided that this requirement shall only apply to those students born on or after January 1, 1957; for purposes of this subparagraph, adequate immunization is defined as:1. Two doses of mumps-containing vaccine, administered at least 28 days apart and no earlier than 4 days before the first birthday; or2. Laboratory evidence of immunity.(c) Rubella, provided that this requirement shall only apply to those students born on or after January 1, 1957; for purposes of this subparagraph, adequate immunization is defined as: 1. Two doses of rubella-containing vaccine, administered at least 28 days apart and no earlier than 4 days before the first birthday; or2. Laboratory evidence of immunity.(d) Varicella, provided that this requirement shall only apply to those students born on or after January 1, 1980. For purposes of this subparagraph, adequate immunization is defined as follows: 1. Two doses of varicella-containing vaccine, administered at least 28 days apart; or2. Laboratory evidence of immunity; or3. A history verified by a physician, advanced practice nurse, physician's assistant or public health nurse employed by a local health department, of varicella disease. Documentation of the past illness is not required to confirm a history of disease.(e) For purposes of this paragraph, "full time" means, for an undergraduate, enrolled in twelve (12) or more educational credit hours, and for a graduate student, enrolled in nine (9) or more educational credit hours, or such lesser number as may be deemed full time by the institution. Such students may be enrolled or registered after a single dose of all required vaccines, provided that the second dose is obtained within 2 months of registration, and at least 28 days after the first dose, and provided, further, that the institution has a procedure for identifying students who have failed to obtain the necessary immunizations and for taking appropriate action to ensure compliance.(17) Effective July 1, 2011, unless exempted by law, any student enrolled in a higher education institution who is a student in a school of medicine, nursing, dentistry, laboratory technology or other allied health profession shall present proof of protection against hepatitis B before such trainee is expected to perform procedures with the potential to expose them to potentially infectious blood. For purposes of this paragraph adequate immunization is defined as: (a) A complete hepatitis B vaccine series; or(b) Laboratory evidence of immunity or infection(18) An individual may be exempted from the requirements of this section only under the following circumstances: (a) Where a physician licensed by the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Osteopathic Examiners or a public health nurse employed by a local Health Department determines that a particular vaccine is contraindicated for one of the following reasons: 1. The individual meets the criteria for contraindication set forth in the manufacturer's vaccine package insert; or2. The individual meets the criteria for contraindication published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control or the ACIP;3. In the best professional judgment of the physician, based upon the individual's medical condition and history, the risk of harm from the vaccine outweighs the potential benefit.(b) An individual who has been exempted from a particular vaccination must comply with immunization requirements for any vaccines from which he/she has not been exempted.(c) Where a parent or guardian, or in the case of an adult student, the student, provides to the school a written statement, affirmed under penalties of perjury, that vaccination conflicts with the religious tenets and practices of the parent or guardian, or in the case of an adult student, the student.(19) If the Commissioner determines that insufficient vaccine is available to meet the terms of these rules, the Commissioner shall notify providers, the Commissioners of the Departments of Education and Human Services and the public of any necessary change in immunization requirements, consistent with any changes published by ACIP. The changes will be published as a temporary addendum to the Official Immunization Schedule and individuals vaccinated in accordance with that temporary schedule will be deemed adequately immunized until the Commissioner determines, in accordance with ACIP recommendations, that sufficient vaccine is again available. When sufficient vaccine is again available, Commissioner shall so notify providers, the Commissioners of Education and Human Services and the public and reinstate the Official Immunization Schedule. The reinstated Official Immunization Schedule shall not become effective until at least 2 months after the determination that sufficient vaccination is again available.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-14-01-.29
Original rule certified June 7, 1974. Repeal and new rule filed March 31, 1977; effective May 2, 1977. Amendment filed April 20, 1987; effective June 4, 1987. Amendment filed April 21, 1988; effective June 5, 1998. Amendment filed June 8, 1990; effective July 23, 1990. Amendment filed August 26, 1998; effective November 9, 1998. Amendment filed July 29, 1999; effective October 9, 1999. Amendment filed July 10, 2001; effective September 23, 2001. Withdrawal filed September 21, 2001, 1200-14-01-.29(7). Amendment filed September 10, 2009; effective December 9, 2009. Amendments filed June 13, 2013; effective November 28, 2013. Amendments filed July 15, 2019; effective 10/13/2019.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 49-6-5001, 49-6-5002(a), 49-6-5003, 68-1-103, 68-5-103, and 68-5-105(a).