Immunization Requirements

Immunization Requirements for a Healthy Campus.

All students reporting to the Omaha and Phoenix campuses are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to their arrival on campus. At this time, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated. All students, faculty, and staff should upload confirmation of COVID-19 vaccinations to the BirdHouse.

Students participating in an on-campus program without verified COVID-19 vaccination documentation (or an approved exemption) may be subject to unenrollment.

Creighton University requires immunization documentation for all students to attend classes on campus

  • Non-Health Sciences Students: Students who are not enrolled in a health science program must meet PDF icon these requirements.
  • Health Sciences Students: Students enrolled in a health science program (Dentistry, EMS, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant) must meet PDF icon these requirements.
     

Steps to Submit Required Documentation

1. Locate Immunization Records

If you are unsure where to locate your immunization records, we recommend checking these sources:

Your Parents

Many parents maintain vaccine records for their children. In many cases, we can accept a good digital photo of these documents.

Your Doctor or Pediatrician

Your doctor’s office may have a copy of these records on hand. If you turned 18 recently and switched from a pediatrician to a family practice physician, your pediatrician’s office may still have these records. You may need to complete a Release of Information form in order to get those records and that process takes about a week at most doctor’s offices.

Your High School or Previous University

Many states require you to submit your vaccinations in order to maintain enrollment as a high school student. Contact your school and ask them for a copy of your vaccination records.  If you are a transfer student, Graduate, Doctoral or Law Student, you may be able to locate the immunizations you submitted to your previous university’s health center. 

Your State’s Vaccine Registry

Many doctor’s offices upload vaccines given to children straight to their state’s vaccine information registry system. Many of these systems have online portals for citizens of that state to access their immunization records.  Use the information provided on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website to locate the contact information for your state’s vaccine registry and contact them to see what records are on file. Remember—they collect information from the physicians in their state only, so if you lived in multiple states when you were a child and the state where you presently reside doesn’t have any information or has incomplete information, you may need to contact the registry for the state where you lived between the ages of one and six years old.

The Military

If you did any kind of military service, you very likely have vaccine records on file with the military. Reach out to your last military healthcare provider for records.

2. Submit Dates and Upload Documentation

  1. Log into the BirdHouse using your netid [at] creighton [dot] edu email address.
  2. Select the Immunization Tab. 
  3. Enter the dates of all immunizations. Click on the blue bars to see the immunizations listed in each category. 
  4. Select the Upload tab at the top of the page. 
  5. Upload documentation for each immunization. The file name cannot have numbers or special characters like ) ( * & ^ _ - or it will not upload.

3. Check Missing Requirements

  1. Select the Immunization tab. 
  2. Select Print.
  3. Scroll to the bottom to the Missing Requirements section of the report.

4. Where to Obtain Missing Requirements

The closest clinic location is the CHI Health Student Care Clinic. To make an immunization appointment, call 402-280-2735 and select option 2. 

Many Walgreens, CVS, and local pharmacies provide immunizations.

Your primary care doctor’s office also provides immunizations.

Obtaining a Copy of Your Vaccination Record

You can obtain a copy of your record through the BirdHouse by navigating to the Immunization tab and clicking the Print button.

Questions?

Please review the frequently asked questions below, and email any additional questions regarding immunizations to immunizations [at] creighton [dot] edu.

What's a titer?

A titer is a blood draw. The lab report can identify the different kinds and levels of antibodies present in a person’s bloodstream, which can indicate immunity to diseases. 

Where can I obtain a missing titer or vaccine?

The closest clinic location is the CHI Health Student Care Clinic. To make an immunization appointment, call 402-280-2735 and select option 2. 

Many Walgreens, CVS, and local pharmacies provide immunizations.

Your primary care doctor’s office also provides immunizations.

How often do I need a Tuberculosis (TB) Screening?

If you are a health science student, this is an annual requirement. 

If you are an international student and not a health science student, this is a one-time requirement. 

If you are not a health science student and not an international student, this is not a requirement.

What if my Hepatitis B Surface Antibody titer doesn't show immunity even though I've obtained previous vaccines?

If you complete these items, you are considered compliant: 

  • Upload your negative Hep B Surface Antibody (HBsAB) titer
  • Obtain another Hep B vaccine and upload to the Birdhouse  
  • 30 days after the Hep B Vaccine, attempt another Hep B Surface Antibody Titer (HbsAB) and upload it to the Birdhouse 

If you are still not immune: 

  • Obtain another Hep B vaccine a month from the first and upload to the Birdhouse 
  • Obtain yet another Hep B vaccine 6 months from first dose and upload to the Birdhouse 
  • Obtain another Hep B Surface Antibody Titer (HBsAB) 30 days after your last dose and upload to the Birdhouse. 

If you are still not immune after completion of two full series of Hep B vaccine, a Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAG) is required. 

(Algorithmic view of this process)

What meets the requirement of a Two-Step Tuberculosis (TB) Skin Test (PPD)?

T-Spot or QuantiFERON Gold Test meets the requirement (single blood draw, requires 1 office visit) 

OR 

Two Step TB Skin test (PPD) may be completed (Two Step TB Test requires 4 office visits: see below) 

  • Visit 1, Day 1: TB/PPD antigen is injected under the skin. 
  • Visit 2, Day 3: TB/PPD test is read within 48-72 hrs of placement.  
  • Visit 3, Day 7-21: a second TB/PPD skin test is applied  
  • Visit 4, 48-72 hours after placement: the second test is read.  
    • Both TB skin tests must be completed within 28 days.

What if my vaccine record will not upload?

Make sure the document you are trying to upload does not contain any special characters such as :-_()*&^% 

Make sure you followed these steps: 

  1. Scan or take a photo of your documents and send them to your computer. Multiple files must be uploaded separately. 
  2. Use the dropdown menu to indicate the type of document you’re uploading.  
  3. Click Select File and choose the file.  Please note:  
    1. File must be smaller than 4 MB (scan in black and white or at a setting of 150 DPI to achieve a smaller file size).  
    2. File must be .gif, .png, .tiff, .jpg, .txt, or .pdf.  
    3. File name cannot include special characters _!@#$%^&*() and must be less than 20 characters.  
  4. Click Upload. Please note:  
    1. If you made a mistake, you can delete the file by clicking the “x” at the end of the document name.  

Successfully uploaded documents will appear below the words “Documents already on file.”  

What if I can't find my vaccination record?

If you have tried the locations listed above, you may obtain titers for each requirement: 

Measles IgG, Mumps IgG, Rubella IgG, Varicella IgG, and Hepatitis B Surface Antibody Titer (HBsAb) are all available blood draws to check for immunity.  

Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Many different options are available now. The Douglas County Health Department offers opportunities here.

Is the COVID-19 vaccine required?

Effective July 7, all students reporting to the Omaha and Phoenix campuses are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to their arrival on campus. At this time, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated. It is important that all students, faculty, and staff upload confirmation of COVID-19 vaccinations to the BirdHouse.

Can I be granted a medical exemption from an immunization?

Yes, you can formally request an exemption. Complete the medical exemption waiver form and submit it for review. It is located PDF icon here and needs to be signed by a physician.

Can I be granted a religious exemption from an immunization?

No, Creighton does not grant religious waivers.