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Back to School Immunization Support for Healthcare Providers

As the new school year approaches, Philadelphia healthcare providers are on the frontlines of ensuring students are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. This guide from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) Immunization Program offers tools and reminders to support your back-to-school vaccination efforts.

On this page

Reviewing International Immunization Records

Routine Vaccine Schedule for School-Aged Children

School Requirements: What and Why

Flu and COVID-19: Don’t Overlook Respiratory Illnesses

Other Recommended Vaccines for Adolescents

Provider Checklist: Back-to-School Immunization Visits

Reviewing International Immunization Records

Philadelphia sees children arriving from all over the world, often with vaccination records that differ from U.S. requirements

Use our International Record Review Guide—created by PDPH—to help you:

  • After reviewing outside/overseas vaccine records, verify up to date vaccine status using published US childhood and adolescent immunization schedules.
  • Translate vaccine names and validate dose dates.
  • Identify when catch-up vaccination is appropriate.

This guide combines trusted resources from CDC, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and Immunize.org.

Routine Vaccine Schedule for School-Aged Children

The CDC Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule remains the standard for school-aged children (ages 4–18), including catch-up guidance.

In Philadelphia, routine vaccines required for school entry include:

DTaP diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis 5 doses*
IPV polio 4 doses**
MMR measles, mumps, rubella 2 doses
Varicella chickenpox 2 doses
HepB hepatitis B 3 doses
MCV4 meningococcal conjugate 2 doses***
Tdap tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis 1 doses

*Fifth DTaP not required if dose #4 was given at age 4 years or above.

**Fourth polio dose not required if dose #3 was given at age 4 years or above.

***Second MCV4 not required if first dose was given at age 16 years or above.

Reference: Philadelphia School Immunization Requirements

Philadelphia schools follow Pennsylvania school entry immunization requirements, which are designed to prevent outbreaks of highly transmissible illnesses such as:

  • Measles: Still a serious threat with outbreaks in greater than half of U.S. states and two pediatric deaths in the U.S.—one unvaccinated child can spark an outbreak.
  • Pertussis (whooping cough): Especially dangerous to infants and those with certain high risk medical conditions.
  • Varicella and mumps: Can cause serious symptoms and absences from school.
  • Meningitis: While rare, this bacterial illness is deadly and contagious.

These requirements are backed by data and enforced to protect public health in classrooms and beyond.

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Have you checked out our Vaccine Summer Series video playlist?

It includes informational videos about Philadelphia School District vaccine requirements and vaccine preventable diseases.

Influenza and COVID-19: Don’t Overlook Respiratory Illnesses

Although not required for school entry, influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations remain strongly recommended:

  • Influenza: Should be given annually to all children 6 months and older, especially before peak season to prevent severe illness and hospitalization.
  • COVID-19: Up-to-date vaccination helps prevent serious illness.

These vaccines are essential to minimizing respiratory infections in Philadelphia’s schools.

Other Recommended Vaccines for School-Aged Children

While not part of school mandates, the following vaccines provide critical protection:

  • HPV vaccine: Recommend starting at age 9 years. Protects against six HPV-related cancers, including oral, cervical, and penile cancers.
  • Hepatitis A vaccine: Recommended starting at 12 months, or 6 months for infants who are traveling to hepatitis A endemic areas. Vital for all children to protect against this liver disease-causing virus.

Providers should use back-to-school visits to educate families on these essential vaccines.

Provider Checklist: Back-to-School Immunization Visits


Review

Assess and update immunization records, including international documents.

Schedule

Administer missed or required vaccines per ACIP and PA guidelines.

Educate

Discuss the importance of required and recommended immunizations.

Document

Report all vaccines to the Philadelphia immunization information system (IIS), PhilaVax. Have records that are not in PhilaVax or found a duplicate for one of your patients? Complete this form so that our team can update the patient’s record.

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Get started with PhilaVax

Are you a provider in Philadelphia that needs access to PhilaVax to check patient vaccination records? If so, complete the PhilaVax User Agreement to get started.

To submit patient vaccination information electronically, please complete the following forms and and submit them to philavax@phila.gov:

A PhilaVax staff member will then reach out to start the Onboarding process.

Need help? Contact the Philadelphia Department of Public Health Immunization Program for guidance on interpreting records, accessing catch-up schedules, or ensuring compliance with school requirements.

For more information or to access our provider tools, contact IQIP Coordinator, Beth Smith at beth.smith@phila.gov or Provider Quality Assurance Nurse, Dom Shannon at dom.shannon@phila.gov.