The quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (Menactra, MCV4, or Menveo) protects against 4 serotypes (A, C, W and Y) of meningococcal disease and is the one required for all full time college students 16 through 21 years of age. It’s routinely recommended at age 11-12 years with a booster at age 16.  Students receiving their first dose on or after their 16^th birthday do not need a booster.

Individuals in certain high risk groups may need to receive the Meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (Bexsero and Trumenba) to protect against serogroup B meningococcal disease based on their doctor’s recommendations.  It is not required for college students at this time.

A hold will be placed on your account and you will not be able to register for for classes. For health occupations students, missed deadlines jeopardize placement in the intended program.

Yes, you must meet all of the state immunization requirements but cannot use exemptions for age or history of disease. You must also have documentation of immunity to Hepatitis B by BOTH the series of 3 vaccinations, or the 2 dose HeplisavB series, AND a positive blood test. A seasonal Flu vaccine is required each year that you are in the program, and Tuberculosis testing is required annually. Additionally, a physical exam is required to be obtained within the specified time frames. You may also be required to provide a negative drug screening and will be contacted accordingly. Refer to your specific health program’s information packet for deadlines and details. Please contact healthrecords@gcc.mass.edu for more information.

GCC Health Records Office will only send emails regarding health records to students at their GCC email address. This system provides an added level of security beyond commercial email accounts. You should routinely check your GCC email to stay informed. CastleBranch, our health screening company, has accreditation from the Professional Background Screening Association and follows industry standard best-practices for data security. Information can be found here. For students who provided information prior to our partnership with CastleBranch, paper records are secured in locked files and locked storage with restricted access.

A Health Records hold indicates that your health records are incomplete. Students will receive emails to their student email from the Health Records Office outlining missing or outdated health requirements, and the steps needed to meet those requirements. The hold will be removed in a timely manner once the Health Records Office has received your information and verified that you meet all requirements. If you have additional questions, please email us at healthrecords@gcc.mass.edu

Records submitted are kept for 10 years for most students and for 5 years for health occupations students per the Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule. At the end of that time period, physical records are destroyed. Electronic records may be kept longer but may not include all the information you may need. You should always make copies of your health documents for your own records before submitting them.

You must meet all requirements before the next registration period. You should read immunization requirements before that time as there are some immunizations that require that you receive a series. If you do not submit the required documentation by the deadline, a registration hold will be added to your record that will prevent you from doing any additional class registrations.  Documents should be submitted showing that you have started a vaccination series even if it hasn't been completed. Students in health occupations programs have additional deadlines described on their program specific documents. Please contact healthrecords@gcc.mass.edu if you have questions about when your individual records are due.

It is best to see your primary care provider for vaccinations or proof of immunization. If you do not have a healthcare provider you may visit a community health center to become a patient there or visit an urgent care clinic or pharmacy location that provides vaccinations.  Call ahead to determine if an appointment is necessary and verify that your insurance covers the service. Bring a photo ID and insurance information with you to the clinic and ask for a copy of your vaccine administration record to submit to us showing your vaccination or laboratory proof of immunity. Below is a sample of sites in our area:

Vaccinations & lab tests for immunity

• Convenient Care
• AFC Urgent Care
• ClearChoice
• Community Health Center of Franklin County
• MedExpress
• Travel Medicine- University Health Services
• MinuteClinic
• Hospital-affiliated urgent care centers such as Baystate, Mercy & Cooley Dickinson

Vaccinations only – check the store first to ensure they provide this service

• Big Y Pharmacy
• CVS Pharmacy
• Walgreen’s Pharmacy
• Rite Aid Pharmacy
• Stop & Shop Pharmacy
• Walmart Pharmacy
• Costco Pharmacy

The HealthMap Vaccine Finder shows locations that offer immunizations near you.  You can limit your search by location and/or the vaccine you need.

It depends on your program and credit hours. The state requirements apply to full time (12 credits) college students and all international students under thirty years old. However the requirements apply to all health occupations students regardless of age or credit load. Meningococcal vaccination is not required of anyone over 22 years of age.

If you know you’ve had immunizations in the past but can't find documentation, you can have blood tests (titers) for measles (rubeola), mumps, rubella, varicella (chicken pox) and Hepatitis B to prove immunity. If you fail to prove immunity you will have to receive the immunizations. Titers must be done by your medical provider or a clinic and documentation of the test results must be submitted to the Health Records Office.

Records may have been given to your or your parents when the vaccines were administered. They may also be kept by facility where they were given. There are several places to look for your records:

• Check with your primary care provider or public health clinic
• Contact your state’s health department to request a copy of your information on their registry. In Massachusetts this is the MIIS – Massachusetts Immunization Information System
• Ask parents or other caregivers if they have records from your childhood doctor’s visits
• Check your baby book or other childhood documents
• Check with your high school, however they may only keep records for 5 years
• Check with your employers as they may have required immunizations
• Check your military records

If you are unable to find all of your records, you may be able to get a blood test to see if you have immunity to some of the vaccine-preventable diseases.  You may also need to get some of the vaccines.

Here are Tips for Locating Old Immunization Records from the Immunization Action Coalition.

Massachusetts State law requires all full-time students under thirty years old (12 credits or more), all international students on student visas under thirty years old, and all students in a health occupation program, regardless of age or credit load, to provide proof of immunization for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella); Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis); Varicella (Chicken Pox) and Hepatitis B.

All full-time college students 16 through 21 years of age will be required to provide documentation of a conjugate type meningococcal vaccine administered on or after their 16^th birthday.  This vaccine protects against diseases like Meningitis. Trade names include Menactra, MCV4, Menveo or it may be referred to as a conjugate or MenACWY vaccine type.

Health occupations students will need to meet additional requirements. Please contact healthrecords@gcc.mass.edu for additional information.