Licensed Vaccines – Required Vaccinations

If there is a licensed vaccine available and the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) provides specific vaccination recommendations for the type of work you are performing, OR the vaccine is required by federal regulations, you are required to be vaccinated prior to working with the agent. If there is a disagreement about the applicability of the ACIP recommendation, the UF Biological Safety Office shall make the final decision with input from the UF Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and the appropriate UF Medical Provider.

1. You must document your decision to accept or decline the vaccine by submitting the Acceptance/Declination/Request for Additional Information Form to the Biosafety Office.
2. If you have previously received the required vaccine(s) AND are current on all recommended vaccine boosters, you must provide official medical records to the UF Occupational Medicine Provider indicating:
   1. The date (month/year) of your vaccination(s)/booster(s), OR
   2. Laboratory evidence of immunity
3. All vaccinations will be provided in consultation with appropriate UF Medical Providers according to ACIP recommended dosing schedules at no cost to the employee.
   1. If immunogenicity data is available, that information will be used to determine at what point the individual is considered “protected” and approved for work with the agent.
   2. If there is no immunogenicity data available, an individual will be considered “protected” and approved for work with the agent two weeks after the final vaccine dose.
4. You may request a waiver using the Request to Waive Required Licensed Vaccines Form. You must include a justification for the waiver request. The request will be evaluated by the Biosafety Officer and UF Medical Provider with input from the UF Institutional Biosafety Committee. UF General Counsel will also be consulted as needed.
   1. If your waiver request is not approved and you decline vaccination, you will not be able to perform the duties that triggered the vaccine requirement.

UF Required Licensed Vaccines

Anthrax

Hepatitis A

Japanese Encephalitis

Meningococcal ACWY

Meningococcal B

Polio

Rabies

Smallpox (Vaccinia)

Typhoid 

Yellow Fever

Influenza* (required for individuals working with RG3 influenza strains)

*The seasonal influenza vaccine is required for individuals working with RG3 influenza strains.  It is recommended for work with circulating human influenza strains (e.g., H1/H3/B) and low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) strains (e.g., H1-4, H6, H8-16), and equine and swine influenza viruses and other RG2 influenza viruses worked with at the BSL-2/ABSL-2 level

Licensed Vaccines – Recommend Vaccinations

If there is a licensed vaccine available for the agent(s) you are working with that does not fall under Required Vaccinations and a risk assessment performed by the Biosafety Office recommends vaccination for the work you are performing, you are strongly encouraged, although not required, to receive the vaccination prior to working with the agent.

1. As part of UF’s Bloodborne Pathogen program, you must document your decision to accept or decline the Hepatitis B vaccine using the UF Bloodborne Pathogen Training/Vaccination Form Acceptance/Declination Statement. This acceptance/declination form needs to be submitted only once during your tenure at UF unless you originally decline vaccination and later decide to accept it.

UF Recommended Licensed Vaccines

Tetanus*, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap)

Human papillomavirus

Influenza

Pneumococcal

• PCV13
• PPSV23

Varicella

Hepatitis B

*Tetanus vaccination is required for all personnel with animal contact and recommended for work with tetanus toxin and/or toxin-producing strains of Clostridium tetani 

Roles and Responsibilities

• Biological Safety Office
  1. Develop and update the policy as necessary
  2. Ensure that research personnel are aware of and comply with the policy
  3. Review the ACIP and federal/state recommendations regarding the vaccination of research staff.
  4. Make recommendations for waiver requests.
  5. In conjunction with the IBC, jointly choose the appropriate UF Medical Provider for the purposes of this policy.
• UF Medical Provider
  1. Assist the Biological Safety Office in reviewing the ACIP and federal/state recommendations regarding the vaccination of research staff.
  2. Discuss the benefits and risks of immunizations with personnel receiving vaccines or requesting vaccine waivers.
  3. Evaluate and approve or deny vaccine waiver requests, taking into account the opinions of other clinical specialists and recommendations from the Biological Safety Officer and IBC.
  4. Provide vaccinations as required.
• Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
  1. Assist the Biological Safety Office in reviewing the ACIP and federal/state recommendations regarding the vaccination of research staff.
  2. Make recommendations for waiver requests.
  3. In conjunction with the Biological Safety Officer, jointly choose the appropriate UF Medical Provider for the purposes of this policy.
• General Counsel
  1. Provide consultation, as requested and appropriate, on legal aspects of vaccination waivers.
• Principal Investigators
  1. Ensure that impacted research personnel are referred to appropriate physician consultants and to the Biological Safety Office for advisement on vaccination requirements.
  2. Enforce any vaccination requirement that is imposed.