Vaccinations
OU-Tulsa students who have patient-facing responsibilities, or could reasonably be expected to be present in patient-facing areas on campus, are required to receive certain immunizations to protect patients, other students, and health care providers. The University recognizes that vaccine requirements in certain University settings, in particular patient care settings, are both prudent and important. Vaccine requirements will be updated as appropriate, based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as medical and public health officials.
Required Immunizations and TB Screening Requirements
For students in an OU Health Sciences program on the OU-Tulsa campus, a complete list of required immunizations and TB screening requirements can be found in this OUHSC-Program Student Immunization and TB Screening Requirements Reference Guide. As of Fall 2024, all OU Health Sciences program students, whether in-person or online, must provide documentation of the following vaccinations (or titers, where sufficient) and testing protocols:
- Hepatitis B
- MMR
- Tdap
- Varicella
- Influenza (annually required for students with patient-facing responsibilities)
- Annual TB Compliance
- Initial negative TB testing (2-step PPD or IGRA titer) and
- Annual screening form each year after the initial test
- Based on external hospital partner requirements, some Colleges will require annual negative test results and the annual screening form.
Individual programs can adjust their requirements from this form, so information from your individual college or program should supersede this document. The following OU-Tulsa programs have modified requirements from those listed in the previously linked document:
- The OU-TU School of Community Medicine (both MD and PA programs) require parts a. AND b. in section #3 (Hep B) of the Reference Guide linked above.
For more information about the Tuberculosis (TB) testing, please click here.
Annual Flu Vaccine
In addition to those vaccines listed in the OUHSC-Program Student Immunization and TB Screening Requirements Reference Guide, all OUHSC-program students enrolled in programs with patient-facing responsibilities are also expected to receive an influenza vaccination each fall.
Optional COVID-19 Vaccination
Effective 9/30/2024, COVID vaccines are no longer required or mandatory, but rather are strongly encouraged, especially for students with patient-facing responsibility. As the COVID vaccine is no longer required, you will notice that the COVID section in Complio now shows as optional. Please reach out to TulsaSA@ou.edu with any questions.
Declination Process for Required Immunizations
OUHSC-program students have the ability to submit declinations for a required vaccination, either on a medical basis or for religious reasons. Please note that a separate form is required for each vaccination being declined. The below steps outline the process for submitting a declination form for consideration:
- Complete the Vaccine Declination Form for OUHSC & OU-Tulsa Students
- Based on your declination reason, please gather the documentation as requested on your Vaccine Declination Form.
- Submit your completed Vaccine Declination Form and required documentation to the following email address, based upon your geographic campus location, using the subject line Vaccine Declination Form:
- OU-Tulsa learners: TulsaSA@ou.edu
- HSC-OKC and remote site learners: requiredimmunizations@ouhsc.edu
- Following submission, a member of the Student Affairs, Accessibility & Disability Resource Center, and/or Student Health will be in communication with you, via email or phone, to discuss your Vaccine Declination Form.
- Do not upload this form to Complio until you recieve notification of approval along with a copy of the signed form.
A separate Vaccine Declination Form, and supporting documentation, is required for each vaccination being declined. Additionally, if declining the influenza vaccine, that declination form must be submitted after September 15th and is required annually.
Complio
For information regarding Complio, the online platform for student immunization tracking in OUHSC programs, please visit the OU-Tulsa Complio page.
Frequently Asked Questions - Required Vaccines
Most OU Health Sciences program students on the OU-Tulsa campus are considered patient-facing. If you are unsure, please ask your program coordinator, director, or College's student services team.
For Norman-program students on the OU-Tulsa campus, your faculty or gradaute program liaison will inform you if you are patient-facing in this capacity, which is rare.
For those OU-Tulsa students enrolled in one of our OU Health Sciences programs, it is reasonable to expect that you will interact with patients in campus and clincial settings and thus must show proof of a series of common vaccinations. Students with true patient-facing engagement in a clinical setting must also receive an annual influenza vaccine to protect our communities.
For OU Health Sciences students on the OU-Tulsa campus, you will upload documentation for each of your required vaccinations or TB tests to Complio, as instructed by your college personnel. Acceptable examples of documentation are:
- Documentation from the Oklahoma State Immunization Information System (OSIIS) or another state's vaccine registry
- A legible copy of a CDC Vaccine Record card
- Documentation from the licensed health care provider who vaccinated the individual
- Other official documentation that includes the name of the provider or facility where the vaccine was provided, the manufacturer of the vaccine given, and the date(s) of the vaccine administration
For Norman-program students at OU-Tulsa, your program will notify you of required immunizations, if any.
Students going into the health professions are highly encouraged to keep a copy of all vaccination records. Complio also serves as a repository for all your vaccination records that you'll have access to even after graduating from OU.
Please call OU-Tulsa Student Health to discuss the research and safety of the vaccines.
Please allow up to 15 business days for the review.
Students will visit with their program/college student service team to understand next steps and possible program limitations.
Students will visit with their program/college student services team to understand next steps and possible program implications. Ultimately, vaccination or titers to show past immunity will be required if a declination is declined.
Neither the University of Oklahoma nor the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center can control the vaccination policies of the facilities, hospitals, or physicians groups that provide clinical and practicum experiences for our students. If you are not allowed to participate in a particular clinical experience due to your vaccine declination, the University may not be able to find you an alternate clinical experience without fundamentally altering the program. If you are unable to complete the required clinical or practicum experiences, you would be unable to fulfill the requirements of your program, eliminating the opportunity to fulfill the necessary requirements for graduation.
In other words, although you may be able to participate in the didactic (classroom) portions of the program, if you decline required vaccinations, the University cannot guarantee that you will be able to ultimately graduate from the program.
Questions Remain? Contact Us!
If you have questions about required immunizations, please contact OU-Tulsa Student Affairs at TulsaSA@ou.edu or 918-660-3100.
