The State Board of Health (Board) will welcome the Office of Immunization at the Department of Health (Department) to the March 8 Board meeting. The Department will return to its pre-pandemic routine of providing the Board with periodic updates on the status of vaccinations for child-care and school-age children in Washington state. The briefing on March 8 will be educational only and no action will be taken. The briefing will include the following content:
- Overview of immunization law and rules
- Overview of immunization requirements for schools and childcares
- Certificate of Immunization Status or (CIS) form
- Allowable exemptions from the immunization requirements and the Certificate of Exemption (COE) form
- Data analysis of immunization coverage in school-aged population (pre- to post-pandemic timeframes) highlighting:
- School-age Immunization Information System (IIS) data at vaccination milestones: 19-35 months, 4-10 years*, 11-12 years, 13-17 years
- Bi-annual estimates during a pre-to-post pandemic timeframe: December 2018 thru December 2022
- All required immunizations for each milestone age group.
More information is available by the Department of Health.
Helpful Information to Know
The Washington State Board of Health (Board) accepted a technical advisory group’s (TAG) recommendation in April 2022 to not add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required immunizations for school and childcare entry in Washington state.
The Board follows the process outlined in the Board’s Immunization Criteria document to consider which antigens to include in the Washington state immunization rules. The process would include convening a technical advisory group (TAG) in coordination with the state Department of Health to develop recommendations for the Board to use when considering whether to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the state rules that set immunization documentation requirements required for school and childcare entry.
While the Board can revisit the TAG's recommendation at any time, there are currently no discussions by the Board to convene a TAG to consider adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccine-preventable diseases children must be protected against for full immunization.
