Required Vaccinations for OCU Physician Assistant Students
Students in the Physician Assistant Program are required to submit records of immunization to the OCU PA Program and OCU Health Clinic.
Currently, in order to comply with Oklahoma Senate Bill 658, the University does not mandate COVID-19 vaccination for students to attend the Oklahoma City University PA Program. However, it is pertinent to inform individuals each of the healthcare systems and clinical rotation sites utilized by the OCU PA program requires all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in clinical rotations and patient care at their facilities. As successful completion of clinical rotations and patient care are a required component of the OCU PA program and for graduation, students are expected to complete all vaccination requirements for the healthcare systems and clinical rotation sites in sufficient time to allow for the appropriate credentialing for any patient care.
1. For the PA Program, you must prove immunity to (CDC guidelines for Healthcare Professionals):
- Hepatitis B
- MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella)
- Varicella (Chickenpox)
- Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
- Meningococcal
- Influenza
2. For OCU, you must provide records of immunity to:
- Hepatitis B
- MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella)
- Meningitis (if living in on-campus housing, including dormitories and apartments, not required if residing off campus)
The reason for vaccination requirements:
- PA students will be required to have patient contact in the both the didactic and clinical years. Students will be required to have immunity to the above diseases, so the PA Program must have your records. You should provide your records directly to the PA program staff.
- OCU requires the information in order to comply with an Oklahoma state law requiring all students in post-secondary education to have immunity to those diseases.
The OCU Health clinic coordinates records of students at the University. The PA Program does not send your records to the Health Center. You can bring or fax your records to 405-208-6016.
If you are unable to provide evidence of your immunization record then you can:
VACCINES - RECOMMENDATIONS IN BRIEF
If you don't have documented evidence of a complete hepaB vaccine series, or if you don't have an up-to-date blood test that shows you are immune to hepatitis B (i.e., no serologic evidence of immunity or prior vaccination) then you should
- Get the 3-dose series (dose #1 now, #2 in 1 month, #3 approximately 5 months after #2).
- Get anti-HBs serologic tested 1–2 months after dose #3.
Get 1 dose of influenza vaccine annually.
If you were born in 1957 or later and have not had the MMR vaccine, or if you don't have an up-to-date blood test that shows you are immune to measles or mumps (i.e., no serologic evidence of immunity or prior vaccination), get 2 doses of MMR (1 dose now and the 2nd dose at least 28 days later). If you were born in 1957 or later and have not had the MMR vaccine, or if you don't have an up-to-date blood test that shows you are immune to rubella, only 1 dose of MMR is recommended. However, you may end up receiving 2 doses, because the rubella component is in the combination vaccine with measles and mumps.
For HCWs born before 1957, see the MMR ACIP vaccine recommendations.
If you have not had chickenpox (varicella), if you haven't had varicella vaccine, or if you don't have an up-to-date blood test that shows you are immune to varicella (i.e., no serologic evidence of immunity or prior vaccination) get 2 doses of varicella vaccine, 4 weeks apart.
Get a one-time dose of Tdap as soon as possible if you have not received Tdap previously (regardless of when the previous dose of Td was received).
Get Td boosters every 10 years thereafter.
Pregnant HCWs need to get a dose of Tdap during each pregnancy.
Those who are routinely exposed to isolates of N. meningitidis should get one dose.
CDC Recommendation 2019—Source: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/hcw.html
