Immunization

As soon as possible! All students living in university housing are required to submit proof of immunization prior to moving into housing. You may think you have all the necessary documentation and immunizations, but that may not be the case. Submitting your records early ensures there is enough time for you to gather the right dates/information and therefore can be verified faster. The sooner you submit your immunization history, the sooner you can be assigned and move into University Village.

Purdue Northwest has partnered with Med+Proctor to evaluate student immunization records for compliance. To start, visit their secure website and create an account. Once you have created your Med+Proctor account, type in your immunization records for review. The dates will be evaluated by trained health professionals who will either approve or disapprove each vaccine dose.

Both the Med+Proctor Standard and Pro accounts allow you to upload your immunization documentation to the university. The Pro account allows for lifetime access to your digitized documentation.

You will need to gather as many past records as you can that state you have had the required vaccines. We will not accept any paper documentation, all dates must be typed into Med+Proctor.

If you are still having trouble, please talk with your doctor to see if you are able to get another shot/vaccine of the ones you are missing. They will be able to work through which ones you need to repeat due to length of time or lack of documentation. Please follow their advice. If they decide you do not need another shot/vaccine, they will need to supply PNW Housing a signed letter stating why (on their office letterhead). This letter should be uploaded to Med+Proctor in the documents section.

Unfortunately, vaccines aren’t always available everywhere. There are many places in the Hammond area that provide the needed immunizations to live on campus at PNW. If you aren’t able to get the last few vaccines, there are a few things you can do to ensure your space is reserved:

1. Visit one of the locations in Hammond during your New Student Orientation
2. Schedule an appointment for Move-in Day (this will require you to upload an appointment statement (on letterhead) to Med+Proctor)

It will take Med+Proctor at least 72 hours to process your immunization records. Housing cannot assign you to a room until your records are verified by Med+Proctor. Please be patient and plan ahead as much as you can to ensure we have enough time to get you an assignment before your move in date.

If you log on to your account on Med+Proctor, you should be able to see the issue notes posted by the reviewer. The most common reasons a document would be disapproved are the following:

• The vaccine was administered outside of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) accepted timeline.
• The vaccine record is not in English and requires a translation.
• The record date is incorrect.
• A vaccine is missing at least one of the required two doses:
  • This may result in the temporary clearance of a hold if the student has already received dose 1, depending on whether or not the waiting period required for dose 2 is still in effect.
  • If neither dose 1 nor dose 2 have been administered, or if the waiting period between the two doses has already passed, the student is not eligible for a temporary clearance.

You will receive an email from Med+Proctor once your immunization records are approved.

A temporary clearance or waiver lifts a hold from the student’s account for a short period of time while the student is in the mandatory waiting period for a second dose of a vaccine and is otherwise compliant with Purdue Northwest’s immunization policy.

Once you receive all of the required doses, please upload the doctor/medical professional paperwork that states what vaccines were given (name of vaccine must be listed). This MUST be on their office letterhead. Please also email our Assistant Director of Housing Operations, Mike Shepard (shepar13@pnw.edu), when you have done this so he can ask Med+Proctor to update your status.

Indiana code title 21, article 40, chapter 5 is available to view on the Indiana General Assembly. For more help, visit this website.

Individuals seeking a medical or religious exemption must submit a letter of request to the Director of Housing and Residential Education signed by the student (parent/guardian if student is under the age of 18). For medical exemptions, a statement from your then or current medical doctor will constitute compliancy. If that is not available, then a lab titer document will suffice. For religious exemptions, a written statement to the effect of, “It is against my religious beliefs to accept vaccinations,” with a hand‐written signature will suffice. Please note, a document with only a typed signature, or that purports to come from someone else will be disapproved.

Once approved, please follow these steps:

1. Go to your Med+Proctor account or register if you have not already created one.
2. Upload the signed statement stating that you are claiming exemption along with any statements submitted to the Director of Housing and Residential Education.

If there is an outbreak of any of the diseases for which Purdue Northwest requires immunization documentation, university administrators will consult the database of students who claimed exemption, for religious or medical reasons, and will contact you to advise you to leave campus immediately and not return until an “All Clear” is given.

Such actions are for the safety of students who have not been immunized, as they are at higher risk of becoming sick and further promoting an epidemic. At the time of such outbreak, students who formerly claimed exemption may seek to become immunized and present documentation of such immunization to avoid the keep-away notice.

If you created a Med+Proctor Account, please log into your account and make sure your immunizations meet these date requirements (BOLD below). If they do not, you will need to schedule an appointment to receive those vaccines as soon as possible.

• • MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) received AFTER 1^st birthday
  • TDAP or TD booster within the last ten (10) years
  • Meningococcal Conjugate (MCV4) on or after 16^th birthday
  • Meningococcal B (if 25 years and younger)
  • Tuberculosis (TB) test (most recent shot date)

If you have not made a Med+Proctor account, you will need to do so and upload your completed PNW Resident/Student Immunization Form (found inside Med+Proctor). Please complete the process outlined above.