School Health Personnel Immunization and Disease Reporting

Application and instructions to report immunization status of students in your school (K-12).

Annual Immunization Status Report (Reports are due December 1, 2023)

WebEx: School Nurse Immunization Webinar
Recorded on October 7, 2022 this webinar provides an overview of immunization law, information on the new AISR application, bulk query use, MIIC use, and vaccine preventable disease reporting. Resources and MDH contacts are included. CEU’s are available after you view the webinar by completing this survey School Immunization Reporting Webinar Knowledge Check.

School Nurse Immunization Webinar Transcript (PDF)

• User Guide: Annual Immunization Status Report (AISR) Online Reporting Tool (PDF)
  Instructions for submitting data to the AISR reporting tool.
• Meningococcal information:
  • Specifications for Meningococcal Vaccine (PDF)
  • Information on Meningococcal Booster Dose Requirements (PDF)
• DTaP and polio information:
  • Specifications for Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTaP) and Polio Vaccines (PDF)
• Hepatitis B information:
  • Specifications for Hepatitis B Vaccine (PDF)

What you can do to keep children healthy, protected, and in school:

• Enforce the immunization requirements (Statute 121A.15 Health Standards; Immunizations; School Children and MN Administrative Rules, Chapter 4604, Immunization) and ensure students have documentation of vaccination or an exemption on file before enrolling or transitioning to the next grade level.
• Send out reminders to families whose children are in-progress or missing doses and explain that districts must show compliance with state requirements.
• Use multiple opportunities to communicate with parents such as new student orientation, Early Childhood Screening, school activities like open houses or parent teacher conferences, school newsletter (paper or electronic), and your district/school websites.
• Provide immunization resources for students and parents, such as information on how and where to get Free or Low-Cost Shots for Children in partnership with Local Public Health.
• Vaccines for Infants, Children, and Adolescents has a variety of resources that are translated, and can be used by school nurses, early childhood education and childcare providers, and parents.
• Make sure families know that unvaccinated children are at increased risk for vaccine-preventable disease which could disrupt learning and lead to physical and mental health problems for students. For example, when children are unvaccinated for MMR, public health may recommend they remain at home for several weeks after being exposed to prevent an outbreak in the school.

For more information about immunizations refer to:

• Immunization webpage
• AASA The School Superintendents Association: Addressing The Decline of Vaccination Rates of U.S. Students Toolkit

Questions? Email MDH at health.aisr@state.mn.us

The bulk query function allows users to efficiently query MIIC for immunization records for a large number of students. This option is available for public, charter, and private schools, as well as higher education users.

Bulk query access

Use your normal AISR login: Annual Immunization Status Report.

User guidance and input template

• Using the Bulk Query Function (PDF)
• Managing the Input and Output Files for the AISR Bulk Query Process (PDF)
• AISR Input Template (CSV)

• MIIC and Schools
  How MIIC can make it easy for schools to ensure their students are up-to-date on their immunizations.
• School Immunization Data
  AISR data from past school years.
• Vaccines for Infants, Children, and Adolescents
  Easy to read schedules, the Immunization Form, and links to Minnesota immunization laws and administrative rules.
• Immunization Requirements for Homeless and Foster Children
  Federal policies override our state law for children in special living situations. Children who are homeless, in foster care, or waiting to be placed in foster care are allowed to enroll without showing immunization records.

Schools are required to report vaccine-preventable diseases and recommended to report norovirus outbreaks.

School Reporting of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (PDF)
Post this table for easy reference of what vaccine-preventable diseases to report, including how and when to report.

• Influenza Information for School Health Personnel
  Flu disease reporting and vaccine information for school health personnel.
• Schools and Child Care COVID-19 Case Reporting and Best Practice Recommendations
  Instructions for COVID-19 case reporting in PreK through grade 12 school and child care settings and approaches that schools, child care, youth programs, and camps can use to promote health and safety while mitigating COVID-19 transmission risk.
• Reporting Pertussis (Bordetella pertussis)
  All cases of pertussis must be reported to the Minnesota Department of Health. Find out what needs to be reported, who needs to report diseases, which forms to use and where to find out more about the disease.
• Reporting Varicella (Chickenpox).
  Schools and child cares are to report all suspected and confirmed cases of chickenpox at their facility, even if they have not been diagnosed by a healthcare provider. Find out what needs to be reported, who needs to report diseases, which forms to use and where to find out more about the disease.
• Foodborne Outbreaks at Schools, Child Care, and Long-term Care Facilities
  Reporting, preventing, and handling norovirus in a school setting.

• Infectious diseases in childcare settings and schools manual
  Contains technical and parent fact sheets about a variety of infectious diseases, as well as information for disease prevention and control. Information is intended for parents, child care providers, and school health staff.
• Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)
  MDH and Hennepin County have updated conjunctivitis school and child care resources to be consistent with the American Association of Pediatric recommendations published in the Red Book 2018. Review these resources to learn more about why no exclusions from school or child care are recommended, unless the child has a fever or is not healthy enough to participate in routine activities.
• Pertussis Information for School Health Personnel
  Find out what to report when pertussis (whooping cough) occurs in your school, fact sheets to use with parents, and exclusion recommendations.
• Varicella Information for School Health Personnel
  Chickenpox fact sheets in multiple languages and reporting forms for school health personnel.
• Healthy Schools and Child Care
  Additional MDH resources for school health professionals.