Data on the CT DPH School Immunization Survey will no longer be updated here. For data on the annual surveys go to https://data.ct.gov/stories/s/n5kk-6ext.

Schools are a prime venue for the transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases, and active school-age children can further spread disease to their families and other with whom they interact. In the U.S., all state require children attending public school or state-licensed day care facilities to receive a series of vaccinations. Vaccination requirements for school are critical to ensuring high rates of vaccination. Linking vaccination with school attendance, which is also required by law, ensures that vaccines reach the greatest number of children.

In 2000, new school immunization requirements went into effect requiring two doses of measles containing vaccine for kindergarten school entry. Measles is a communicable disease with significant health effects that are much more easily transmitted in congregate settings such as schools, which bring many susceptible persons together in close proximity to each other. Schools serve as sources of exposure to viruses and bacteria for large numbers of children, staff and visitors, but the children who get exposed at school then take the disease back to the family setting where there may be further spread to family members and others in the community. CT passed laws which require certain immunizations to attend school and licensed daycare. These laws act as a public safety net, not only for the children attending these settings, but also for the community at large.

During the 2017-2018 school year 96.5% of kindergarten students in Connecticut were vaccinated with MMR and 98.8% were in compliance with vaccination requirements. MMR vaccination among kindergarten-aged students has remained constant over the past 5 years.

Note: Compliancy is defined as the percent of students fully vaccinated divided by the subtotal of students excluding those with exemptions (subtotal =total number of students minus the number of exempt students).

These data are current as of October 2018.

DPH Immunization Partners

Government: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CT Department of Social Services/Community Health Network (CHN), CT Department of Children and Families, CT Local Health Departments/Districts, Tribal Governments, Health Departments from other states, Emergency Response and Public Health Preparedness

Organizations and Coalitions: Connecticut Vaccine Advisory Council (CVAC), Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Foundation for Children, CT American Lung Association, American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA), Every Child By Two, Association of Immunization Managers (AIM), American Cancer Society

Business and Industry: Pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines, Immunization Information System (IIS) vendors, electronic health record (EHR) vendors, insurance companies

Health Care: Private and public providers, community health centers, school based health centers, hospitals

Education: Daycares, schools and colleges, Board of Nursing, State Department of Education, Yale School of Public Health

Community Services: CT Department of Social Services, Community Health Network (CHN), Local WIC Offices, tribal services, services for immigrants and refugees, homeless shelters and programs, domestic violence shelters and programs, Hispanic Health Council, Maternal Infant Outreach Program - City of Hartford Health and Human Services (MIOP) , Family Strides, Head Start, Healthy Start, Nurturing Families, Connections, Mom’s Project, Positive Parenting, Project Mother Care, Reach out and Read, Birth to Three, libraries, churches, Community Health Center Family Wellness Center/New Britain, Weston Women’s League, Human Resources Agency of New Britain (HRA), Family and Children’s Agency (FCA) of Norwalk, Spanish Speaking Center, United Way

The Public: Parents and the general public

CT school immunization regulations require that all children entering kindergarten be vaccinated with 2 doses of MMR vaccine prior to enrollment in a public or private school.

*School Immunization statutes 10-204a-1, 10-204a-2a, 10-204a-3a and 10-204a-4 effective February 15, 2011

The Connecticut Vaccine Program is Connecticut’s childhood vaccination program. It ensures all children in the state get the vaccinations they need, when they need them, to stay healthy. The state buys vaccine at the lowest possible price through a government contract, and gives the vaccines at no cost to clinics, private doctors, and other health care providers. These providers then vaccinate children without charging patients for the cost of the vaccine (health care providers may still charge an administration fee). Without this program, some insurance companies may not cover the full cost of vaccine, making it too expensive for some families.

The Immunization Program will continue to survey schools annually to monitor school compliance and enforcement of school immunization regulations to ensure children are meeting immunization requirements. The Immunization Program will also continue to educate for providers, parents, and the general public on the importance of vaccinations in preventing vaccine-preventable disease and working with providers using the state immunization registry to assure children in their practice are adequately immunized.