US - Green Card application - Proof of vaccines?

[piratedinosaursgogogo]

Those of you who have been through the Green Card process, how did you go about tracking down evidence of your childhood/teenage vaccines?? I know I would have had everything that was required of someone who was born in 1972 but I can't find any records and neither can my mum.

Would my last GP have my records from childhood, even though my records would have changed surgery at least five times?? I'm having a bit of a panic as I have a severe needle phobia and the thought of having to redo injections I've already have had is making me physically sick.

Any ideas?

I checked with my local health board (I'm Irish - guess it would be the PCT where you were as a kid) but could only track down my rubella vaccine from when I was 12 or so. But it's fine, as the doctor you have to use as part of the physical exam arranges it - in the one appointment you have a chest x-ray, a chat with the doctor and then a nurse does all of the outstanding vaccines you don't have evidence for. It's pretty straightforward.

I can't help with the needle phobia, other than extend my sympathies and reassure you that it was all over quickly. There's no way you can avoid having any vaccines you don't have evidence for.

Actually, one way to avoid one is to say you had chickenpox as a child. I did (so told the truth when asked by the nurse), but if you didn't and you tell them then you'd have to have a chickenpox vaccine too.

Thanks Flip. I don't think I had chickenpox as a child but when I was pregnant there had an outbreak of chickenpox in the class I taught, I was tested and turns out I have natural immunity, so I'm hoping the results of that are on my records.

I can sort of get my head around needing to have vaccines that I've never had but am struggling with the concept of needing them re-done. So you think I need to be making contact with where I was when I was in child as opposed to my most recent UK practice?

I definitely didn't have a CP immunity test (it was early July last year), but it's great if you have that on file. But writing up the approx dates of the other ones was not an option, it was have paper evidence or get them redone, eg my paper evidence of having had rubella meant that I still needed to have the first shot of the MMR (never bothered with the follow up one as I was in the States by then and no one will check again!).

Trying your current practice for advice sounds like a good plan.

Thanks Natasha and Flip again! I think what I'll do is get my mum to double check back home, make a list of any vaccinations I had as a teenager and I've also asked a friend who uses my old surgery to see what they say.

It's only today that I've realised that I only have a 'short' birth certificate (without my parents names on) so I need to try and locate a 'long' version somewhere.

It all seems very complicated.

Hi pirate, I also only had a "short" birth certificate, so I applied to the registrar in the UK town I had been registered in, and they provided the "long version" as a certified copy. I can't remember how much it cost, but it was mailed over here to the US.
I too was relying on my memory for vaccines, and I don't think I had to repeat any.

If you really can't get hold of the records, you can get a blood titre done to detect the antibodies.

It might be easier (and cheaper) just to get the jabs redone, though.

We still had to have the medical that tested us and then have booster shots, even with proof that dd had hers, and dates etc for us.

Thanks everyone.

Thankfully my mum found my baby vaccination card and is posting that over. My friend went into my old UK surgery this morning and they've said they can help, so I'm asking them about my school BCG/Rubella plus a course of Hep B I had with work and my chickenpox immunity test. Fingers crossed.

Will the vaccination card be sufficient evidence? I think I will try and get all records anyway.

And I've just ordered a long birth certificate!

Thanks again.

The vaccination card has to have a doctor's surgery stamp on it. It doesn't matter how old it is. If the records are in several places, the practice nurse can put them all on a new card and emboss it. same with any photocopies of medical records.

That's really useful to know, thank you.

Surely ... Although its still one needle... The gp can just run an anti body screen? I recently had one done for hep b, cp, pertussis, rubella, not sure what else.. They will come back with an immune status.. Or not.. And therefore validate you had the vaccines?

I had to have this done for a US visa and my British surgery were able to just print off a list of vaccinations, with dates. There were a couple that we don't have over here, but the rest were fine.

That's the type of list I'm hoping to get AView. I really need to avoid unnecessary injections if I can.

You will prob need mumps shot as we were not immunised against this in the uk inthe 70 s.