Dept. of Health: New Certificate of Immunization Status available

Sent on behalf of Trang Kuss, Department of Health, Washington state
Please contact Trang with any questions (Trang.Kuss@DOH.WA.GOV).

The new Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) is now available. The translations include Korean, Russian, Spanish, Somali, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, and can be found on our web page. We are still working on the Chinese translation.

Here are some key points about the new CIS:

• Please start using the new CIS for all new students this current school year and for new students entering in the fall.
• Families do NOT need to fill out the new CIS for students with an old CIS already on file.
• We recently got guidance from attorneys at the Dept of Health and OSPI stating that parent consent is NOT needed for school staff to update the CIS. The office use only box and other references to parent consent have been removed from the Jan 2015 CIS. So, if you find additional immunizations in the WA Immunization Information System (IIS), you do NOT need to get parent consent to update the CIS. Please note: since we received this guidance, this also applies to the CIS dated 2010. Effective immediately, you are NO longer required to get parent consent to update the CIS.
• The CIS in the IIS is slightly different than the paper version. We worked with our vendor to put the final version of the CIS in the IIS months ago, but with the last minute change to the parent consent, we will need to update the CIS in the IIS. However, the CIS in the IIS is still valid and can be used. We will update the CIS in the IIS as soon as possible to remove the office use only box and other references to parent consent.
• We added a new parent consent box (right hand top corner) for certain schools involved in piloting the IIS School Module to be able to add immunizations to the IIS. Only the districts involved in this pilot project should use this consent. The IIS School Module isn’t available yet for statewide use, so this consent is NOT necessary at this time for schools not involved in using the School Module. Please continue to get a parent signature for each student certifying that the information on the CIS is correct and verifiable (center box at the top of the CIS).
• The parent verification of chickenpox disease has been removed since parent verification is no longer allowed.
• Tdap and Td are separated in two separate rows. Additional rows were added to pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines to match the national immunization schedule.

The CIS and Certificate of Exemption Frequently Asked Questions has been updated. Please send any questions to oicpschools@doh.wa.gov. Thank you!

Trang Kuss, RN, MN, MPH; School and Child Care Public Health Nurse Consultant; Department of Health Office of Immunization and Child Profile
Phone: 360-236-3760; Cell: 360-878-2003; FAX: 360-236-3590

Website: www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Schools/Immunization.aspx

Washington State Immunization Information System: www.waiis.wa.gov