Section 665.520  Medical Exemption

a)         Any medical exemption from an immunization shall be:

1)         Made by the examining physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced practice nurse or a physician assistant responsible for the performance of the health examination indicating what the medical condition of the child is that makes administration of one or more of the required immunizing agents medically contraindicated; and

2)         Endorsed and signed by the examining physician, advanced practice nurse or physician assistant responsible for the performance of the health examination on the health examination form.

b)         An examining physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced practice nurse or physician assistant responsible for the performance of the health examination may consider including without limitation the nationally accepted recommendations from federal agencies such as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the information outlined in the relevant vaccine information statement, and vaccine package inserts, along with the examining physician's, advanced practice nurse's or physician assistant's clinical judgment, to determine whether any child may be more susceptible to experiencing an adverse vaccine reaction than the general population, and if so, the examining physician, advanced practice nurse or physician assistant may exempt the child from an immunization or adopt an individualized immunization schedule. (Section 27-8.1(8) of the School Code) Any exemption based upon an adverse vaccine reaction from an immunizing agent shall be endorsed and signed by the examining physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, advanced practice nurse or physician assistant responsible for the performance of the health examination.

c)         The child care facility or local school authority shall attach the form to the child's health record and place the record in the child's permanent record. The child care facility or local school authority shall inform the parents or legal guardians of outbreak control exclusion procedures, in accordance with the Control of Communicable Diseases Code, at the time the medical exemption is presented.

d)         Should the medical condition of the child later indicate that immunization is no longer contraindicated to the health of the child, the immunization requirements will then have to be met.  

(Source:  Amended at 41 Ill. Reg. 2973, effective February 27, 2017)