Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Health

Immunization Information for Healthcare Workers

At certain healthcare facilities in Rhode Island, the State requires healthcare workers to be immunized against certain diseases.

Rhode Island’s immunization regulations define a healthcare worker as any person who is an employee (temporary or permanent), volunteer, student, or contractor at a healthcare facility. This includes trainees, healthcare providers with privileges at a facility, and people not directly involved in patient care such as clerical, dietary, housekeeping, laundry, security, maintenance, administrative, and billing staff.

Facilities in which immunization regulations apply

These regulations apply in:

  • Adult day care programs
  • CVS MinuteClinics
  • Free-standing ambulatory care surgical centers
  • Free-standing emergency care facilities
  • Home health care providers
  • Home nursing care providers
  • Hospice providers
  • Hospitals
  • Kidney treatment centers
  • Nursing facilities
  • Organized ambulatory care facilities
  • Physician ambulatory surgery centers

Facilities should keep vaccination exemption and declination forms in their employee personnel files. They should not send them to the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Immunization regulations

You can find Rhode Island's complete immunization regulations online. Individual vaccination requirements are summarized below.

Flu

Healthcare workers must either be vaccinated against the flu yearly or wear surgical masks when the Director of Health declares flu to be widespread. Flu Information for Healthcare Workers

COVID-19

Healthcare workers and assisted living residence workers must be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. This means they’ve gotten all recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including a booster dose when eligible. If they're not up to date, they must wear a National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 mask while working in healthcare facilities during a period in which the COVID-19 prevalence rate in the State is greater than or equal to 50 cases per 100,000 people per week.

Hepatitis B

Workers at risk of exposure to blood-borne pathogens must be offered hepatitis B vaccine within 10 days of starting employment.  A titer testing for antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen (Anti-HBs) is recommended 1-2 months after the last dose. People who don’t develop a titer shall be offered a repeat series with follow-up titers. Employees have the option of signing a standard OSHA declination form if they choose not to be vaccinated. They should be counseled regarding risk.

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

  • New healthcare workers require 2 doses of MMR before starting employment.
  • Current healthcare workers born before 1957 who lack laboratory evidence of measles immunity or laboratory confirmation of disease should get 2 doses of MMR. They must be vaccinated during outbreaks.

Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis

Both new and current healthcare workers require 1 dose of Tdap.

Tuberculosis

Healthcare workers require evidence they’re free of active tuberculosis based upon the results of a negative 2-step tuberculin skin test. A negative FDA-approved blood assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (BAMT) may replace a 2-step tuberculin skin test.

For healthcare workers who can present documentation of serial tuberculin testing with negative results in the past 2 or more years, a single baseline negative tuberculin test result is sufficient.

Varicella (Chickenpox)

Healthcare workers require one of the following:

  • 2 doses of varicella vaccine  
  • Laboratory evidence of immunity
  • Laboratory confirmation of disease
  • A healthcare professional diagnosis of varicella
  • A healthcare provider verification of history of varicella
  • A history of herpes zoster based on healthcare provider diagnosis