Vaccinations for Children Adopted Internationally

International adoptees are usually under-immunized compared to the US and may come from conditions that provide increased risks of contracting an infectious disease. Therefore, in addition to the child, adoptive family members, including parents, siblings and extended family, and child care providers must also be current on their vaccinations.

It’s not unusual for adoptees to come with incomplete or nonexistent immunization, medical and developmental records. Many doctors prefer to re-immunize adoptees to insure maximum effectiveness. Most vaccines may be safely repeated.

Internationally adopted children who are less than 10 years of age are exempt from overseas immunization requirements. Adoptive parents are required to sign a waiver indicating their intention to comply with the immunization requirements within 30 days of the infant’s or child’s arrival in the United States.

Some helpful resources include:

• An overview of the CDC’s protocol for international adoptions can be found in the CDC Yellow Book's website.
• Health considerations, including immunization information, for international adoptions from the State Department.
• Charts from the CDC on vaccination schedules, including a schedule for those who must play catch-up.