The only way to know what vaccinations you’ve received is to gather your medical records—from childhood, from high school, and from adulthood. Contact your current and former doctors and request your immunization records. Your current doctor can help you determine whether or not you’re up to date.
If you can’t remember all your past doctors, however, or if your records are unavailable for some reason, there are still a few steps you can take to determine your vaccination status.
Testing for Immunity
For certain diseases, your doctor can perform a test for evidence of immunity, whether from a prior vaccination or an infection. In the case of varicella (chickenpox), for example, a blood test can show whether or not you’re immune to the disease. Alternatively, if a health care provider can verify that you had previously been diagnosed with chickenpox, you don’t need to worry about receiving the chickenpox vaccine: that prior infection will provide immunity.
One test frequently performed for women planning to become pregnant is the test for rubella immunity. A rubella infection in a pregnant woman can lead to congenital rubella syndrome in her child—an infection that can cause severe developmental abnormalities and death. As such, women who plan to become pregnant may be tested for immunity to rubella and vaccinated against it if necessary. (Rubella vaccination is contraindicated after a woman has become pregnant.)
Past Vaccination Schedules
Past U.S. recommended immunization schedules may provide general information to help you determine whether you are likely to have received a particular vaccine. This information is not a substitute for personal medical records. You should work with your doctor to determine which vaccinations you’ve received and which ones, if any, you might still need. However, this information is provided to offer a general idea of the vaccinations recommended for U.S. residents of various ages, based on the immunization schedule during certain time periods.
Please note that additional vaccinations may have been recommended via “catch-up” schedules or as new recommendations were made. (For example, a child born in 1999 but had a doctor’s visit in 2001 may have received a pneumococcal vaccine, even though it was not yet on the recommended schedule when he was born.) In addition, this information includes only recommended childhood immunizations—adult recommendations, as well as vaccinations recommended for foreign travel, are not included.
U.S. Residents Born After 2000
were recommended to receive the following childhood vaccines:
- Hepatitis B
- DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis)
- Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
- Pneumococcal
- Polio (inactivated poliovirus vaccine)
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
- Varicella (chickenpox)
The following vaccines were recommended after 2000:
- Hepatitis A vaccine, recommended for all U.S. children beginning in 2006 (previously recommended only for at-risk children)
- Human papillomavirus vaccine, recommended for all U.S. female adolescents beginning in 2006 and male adolescents beginning in 2011
- Meningococcal (conjugate, serogroups A, C, Y, W-135) vaccine, recommended for U.S. adolescents beginning in 2005
- Rotavirus vaccines, recommended for all U.S. children beginning in 2006
U.S. Residents Born Between 1996 and 2000
were recommended to receive the following childhood vaccines:
- Hepatitis B
- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) or DTaP*
- Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
- Polio (inactivated or live attenuated poliovirus vaccine)
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
- Varicella (chickenpox)
Rotavirus vaccination was available in 1998 and may or may not have been administered.
*Children who were vaccinated in 1997 or later likely received DTaP, which included a new version of the pertussis vaccine, instead of DTP.
U.S. Residents Born Between 1994 and 1996
were recommended to receive the following childhood vaccines:
- Hepatitis B
- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis)
- Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
- Polio (oral live attenuated poliovirus vaccine)
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
U.S. Residents Born Between 1989 and 1994
were recommended to receive the following childhood vaccines:
- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis)
- Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
- Polio (oral live attenuated poliovirus vaccine)
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
U.S. Residents Born Between 1971 and 1989
were recommended to receive the following childhood vaccines:
- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis)
- Polio (oral live attenuated poliovirus vaccine)
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
U.S. Residents Born Between 1963 and 1971
were recommended to receive the following childhood vaccines:
- Smallpox
- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis)
- Polio (oral live attenuated poliovirus vaccine)
- Measles
Mumps vaccination was also available starting in 1967; rubella vaccination was also available in 1969.
Prior to 1963
…changes to the list of available vaccines were frequent. Immunization for polio became widely available in 1955; for pertussis in the 1940s; for tetanus in 1938; and for diphtheria in 1926. (The combined DTP immunization for the latter three diseases was available in 1948.)
Conclusion
Based on the recommendations at the time when you were born, you can get a general idea of which vaccinations you might have received, assuming the schedules were followed. But remember: the fact that a vaccine was recommended doesn’t mean you received it. Medical records are still the only way to be certain that a particular vaccination was given.