Required and Recommended Immunizations

At present, the University is accepting those vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), as well as those authorized by the World Health Organization EUL. The following COVID vaccines are being accepted:

• FDA-Authorized: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
• WHO EUL-Authorized: AstraZeneca/Oxford (SK-BIO and Covishield), Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV), and Sinovac (CoronaVac)

We anticipate that other vaccines available internationally may become authorized before the August 1st deadline. International students who provide documentation of an FDA or WHO  authorized vaccine will not need to be vaccinated again upon arrival.  We will make determinations on questions regarding accepting other vaccines as more information is available. Updated guidance will be provided throughout the summer.

Students who are abroad and are unable to obtain an FDA-authorized vaccine may receive an FDA-authorized vaccine when they arrive in the United States. If you are unsure whether you can receive an approved vaccine before returning to campus for the fall semester, please email myuhs@princeton.edu so that UHS can work with you to receive the vaccine once you arrive in Princeton.

For additional questions, please email covidvaccines@princeton.edu.

Three doses are required for all matriculating students or a blood test showing immunity. All students will be required to have all three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine as outlined in the following schedule. The second dose should be at least 28 days after the first dose and the third dose at least 16 weeks after first dose and at least 8 weeks after the second dose. If there is no time to complete a series before matriculation, an appointment may be made at UHS when the next dose of vaccine is due.

Two doses of MMR are required. The first dose is typically administered after the first birthday, and the second is a minimum of four weeks after the first dose. We will also accept a blood test within the last year showing immunity. If there is not time to complete a series before matriculation, an appointment may be made at UHS when the next dose of vaccine is due.

Meningococcal vaccine (covering serogroups A,C,Y,W-135) is required for all undergraduate and graduate students living in campus housing, defined as New Graduate College, Old Graduate College, and the Annexes: 11 Dickinson, 15 Dickinson, 16 Dickinson, 24 Dickinson, 35 University Place, 45 University Place, and 31 Edwards. We accept Menactra, Menomune, Menveo, or Nimenrix. One dose of MenACWY is required after the 16th birthday, and within the last 5 years, for all students living in a dormitory-style facility. Regardless of living situation, any student under the age of 30 is encouraged to receive vaccination against meningococcal disease. See ACIP recommendations. 

A single Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, reduced acellular pertussis) immunization is required for individuals who have completed the recommended childhood series of vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (DTP/DTaP). Tdap vaccine is not available in many countries outside the United States of America. Tdap appears with the following trade names: Adacel, Boostrix, Repevax. We accept only an adult pertussis booster, given after the 11th birthday and after 2005. If you are unable to receive this vaccine before you arrive on campus, you should make an appointment at UHS. The Tdap vaccine is one of the required immunizations and you will not be considered compliant unless you receive it, regardless of whether you have recently received a Td booster.

A Tuberculin Skin test (TST) or Quantiferon Gold test is required for students who are at higher-risk, meaning they:

• have a medical condition that weakens the immune system, have symptoms of TB (fever, night sweats, cough, weight loss)
• have been in physical contact with someone who has TB disease,
• use illegal drugs
• have lived or worked somewhere TB disease is more common (e.g. homeless shelters, prison, jails, or some nursing homes)
• have spent three or more months in a country where TB disease is common.

A new or past positive test must be accompanied by a chest x-day report within the last year. Requirement for TB testing will be determined upon upload of required Immunizations and completion of Health History form on MyUHS.

This vaccine is recommended if you:

• travel or work anywhere except the U.S., Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Japan
• have chronic liver disease, hepatitis B or C
• use illegal drugs
• are a man who has sex with other men
• have clotting-factor disorders
• work with hepatitis A virus in experimental lab settings (not routine medical laboratories)
• handle food (when health authorities or employers determine vaccination to be cost effective)
• wish to obtain immunity to hepatitis A

The single best way to prevent the seasonal flu is to get an annual influenza vaccination. Learn more about the flu vaccine.

In 2014 at Princeton University and in 2016 at another local institution, there were outbreaks of Meningitis B. For this reason, we recommend that all incoming students, especially those living in dormitory style facilities, to be vaccinated for Meningitis B. There are two different vaccine products by two different manufacturers – Bexsero, a two dose vaccine, and Trumenba, a three dose vaccine. They are not interchangeable – so be sure to indicate which vaccine you are receiving when you send in your immunization record.

Discuss the need for this vaccine with your physician if you have a disease or condition that lowers your body’s resistance to infection, such as:

• Hodgkin’s disease
• lymphoma or leukemia
• kidney failure
• multiple myeloma
• nephritic syndrome
• HIV infection or AIDS
• damaged spleen or no spleen
• organ transplant
• long term steroids
• certain cancer drugs radiation therapy
• smoking and asthma 

Two doses of the chicken pox vaccine are recommended at least one month apart, unless you have positive immune titer verifying immunity or history of disease with an approximate date.