What vaccinations are recommended for new immigrants to the United States?

The following information is taken from the CDC web page with information on the vaccination of U.S.-bound refugees and V-93 applicants (www.cdc.gov/immigrant-refugee-health/hcp/panel-physicians/vaccination.html):

CDC has specific criteria to determine which vaccines applicants for a United States Immigrant Visa are required to show proof of having received.

The criteria are as follows:

The vaccine must be an age-appropriate vaccine, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the general U.S. population AND at least one of the following:

• The vaccine must protect against a disease that has the potential to cause an outbreak. An outbreak is defined as the occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people, over a given period of time. For endemic diseases, an outbreak occurs when incidence rises above the normally expected level. For diseases with seasonal variation, the average incidence rates over particular weeks or months of previous years, or average high or low levels over a period of years, may be used as baselines.
• The vaccine must protect against a disease that has been eliminated in the United States or is in the process of being eliminated in the United States.

Therefore, the vaccines required for applicants do not include all the vaccines recommended by the ACIP and CDC for routine U.S. domestic use, and are limited to vaccination for the following diseases:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis
• Polio
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Rotavirus
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Meningococcal disease
• Varicella
• Pneumococcal disease
• Influenza
• COVID-19

ACIP recommends vaccines for a certain age range in the general U.S. public. ACIP recommendations are used to decide which vaccines are age-appropriate for the general immigrant population. Refer to the CDC table of vaccines required for immigrant visa applicants by age: www.cdc.gov/immigrant-refugee-health/media/pdfs/Vaccine-Requirements-According-to-Applicant-Age-panel-physicians-p.pdf.

Children adopted from outside the U.S. and political refugees are recommended to receive age-appropriate vaccination, with catch-up vaccination as appropriate. More information is available in the “Special Situations” section of CDC’s General Best Practices for Immunization, available at  www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-best-practices/special-situations.html#cdc_report_pub_study_section_7-persons-vaccinated-outside-the-united-states. People entering the U.S. as visitors are not required to provide proof of vaccination regardless of the length of stay.