On May 12, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated guidance on its Immigrant, Refugee, and Migrant Health webpage on COVID-19 vaccination requirements for civil surgeons:

  • The applicant must receive one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine if a dose is due at the time of the exam according to current CDC guidance. Additional doses are no longer required, and applicants do not have to postpone completion of the exam to complete the primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Applicants who have completed any approved primary COVID-19 series before the exam require no additional COVID-19 doses for immigration. Those who have not yet done so should receive a bivalent vaccine.
  • Applicants who have received one or more doses but have not completed the primary series and are not yet due for the next dose in the series at the time of the exam should use the “Insufficient time interval between doses” blanket waiver.

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