Division of Student Success
University of Nebraska Medical Center
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Immunization FAQs

The University of Nebraska Medical Center adheres to the recommended guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for healthcare workers. Proof of immunity must be verified via blood titers for Varicella and Hepatitis B. Immunity for Tetanus and Pertussis is verifiable by a recent dose of Tetanus Diphtheria Acellular Pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.

In most cases, your titer will prove sufficient for immunity if you had the infection in the past. If you've never had chickenpox, you will be required to complete a two-dose series for Varicella. (Note: Just having a history of chickenpox is not enough. You need to also have a titer to verify/prove immunity.)

Generally, it isn’t necessary to restart the series. Most likely you would need to receive the missing doses as indicated, wait 30 days and then get a Hepatitis B Surface Antibody titer drawn. As a reminder, if your titer is negative, you must complete a second Hepatitis B series with a follow-up titer.

Yes. However, there are two steps involved in Tuberculosis testing, and you may not need both steps. The first time a person receives the TB test, he or she must complete the two-step test. After receiving the two-step test, the annual test is just a one-step test.

If you have documentation that you have received the two-step test previously and have an uninterrupted history of annual testing, then you only need the one-step test within six months prior to registration. However, if you have never been tested for TB, or you have been tested but do not have an uninterrupted history of annual testing, then you must do the two step test within six months prior to registration.

It is our intent to provide knowledge of, and take precautions to prevent, communicable diseases for students preparing to enter the healthcare profession. These immunization requirements enable us to ensure the health and safety across the entire UNMC community (patients, faculty and students, and visitors).

Yes, due to HIPAA regulations, we do not have access to your medical record and do not know when you are seen in the clinic. Please update your immunization record by logging on to MyRecords and updating the date as well as submitting the back-up documentation as an attachment.

Your immunizations WILL NOT be submitted to UNMC Student Health until you upload and submit backup documentation via MyRecords. You must upload backup documentation for every required immunization. 
  • Upload complete pages that clearly display your name and date of birth, so UNMC can verify that the record belongs to you.
  • Do not submit your full medical history. Only submit the immunization records and/or laboratory results specifically requested in the requirements above.
  • Do not crop, redact, or alter documents before submitting them.
  • Multiple immunizations on one document will be accepted.
  • Documentation can be from a doctor's office, previous school, childhood medical records, or any other official immunization documents.
  • Make sure the documents are legible.
  • Documents in a foreign language must include an official English interpretation.
  • You can upload the following types of documents: PDF, DOC, DOCX, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TIF, TIFF.
  • Do not upload documents that are password protected. Password protected documents cannot be read and will delay your application.
  • HTML documents cannot be uploaded.
  • Files with the following in the file names may cause errors: #, %, (, ), @, ^, &, !, $.
  • You cannot upload documents larger than 10MB.
  • File names cannot be longer than 60 characters.
  • When naming your backup documents please use the name of immunization and date updated (example: hepb2_1-1-18).