Varicella

You may satisfy the Varicella requirement in ONE of the following ways:

1. By vaccine:

  • Two doses of the varicella vaccine.

  • Doses must meet the following age/interval requirements:
    • The first dose must be on or after your 1st birthday
    • The second dose must be at least 28 days after the first dose
    • Other live vaccines must be administered on the same day OR spaced out by 28+ days (for MMR) (or 30+ days for yellow fever) from the date of administration of a varicella vaccine in order to be valid
    • Tuberculosis testing must be performed before or on the same day as live vaccine administration, OR delayed by at least 4 weeks after receiving a live vaccine
  • If you only have one dose that meets the age/interval requirements, you still need to get an additional dose.
  • NOTE: Since varicella is a live vaccine, it is contraindicated in certain conditions (including if you are pregnant). If you need a medical exemption, see “Exemptions” here.

OR

2. By positive titer:

If you had chickenpox, or cannot find records for your past doses of the vaccines:

  • Blood titer for Varicella showing you have immunity. 
    • Not everyone who has chicken pox or shingles necessarily develops Varicella immunity, so a blood titer to prove that you are "positive" for immunity is required. A doctor's note stating that you had chicken pox or shingles is not sufficient.
  • If your titer results do not show evidence of immunity, you will still be required to get any outstanding doses of the vaccine(s) as indicated above.
  • NOTE: When reporting your titer results, remember that "positive" means "positive for immunity" and "negative" means "negative for immunity."

If you need assistance with the compliance process, please contact us.