Vaccines are important tools that help protect health. Disease threats are everywhere, throughout life, from birth, to day care and school entry, to recruit training, to adult life, to deployment, and to retirement. Diseases can spread person-to-person, through consuming contaminated food or water, from the bite of an infected mosquito, and other ways, including possible hostile use of a biological warfare agent.

Vaccines provide a safe and effective means of countering the threats to personal health and military readiness. Successful immunization programs should include protocols that:

• Identify persons eligible for vaccination based on age, vaccination status, occupational or travel requirements and/or medical conditions that put them at high risk for infection.
• Provide adequate information to patients or their guardians regarding the risks and benefits of a vaccine and documentation of that information in compliance with Federal, DOD, and Service-specific guidelines.
• Document vaccine administration in the individual medical record and appropriate Service-specific Immunization Tracking System (ITS), if required.
• Record patient refusals or medical and administrative exemptions in the individual medical record and/or appropriate Service-specific ITS.
• Document vaccine any post-vaccination adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).