How ready was the US vaccination infrastructure and network of immunization information systems for COVID-19 vaccination campaigns: Recommendations to strengthen the routine vaccination program and prepare for the next pandemic

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic vaccination campaigns globally have been unlike any effort in history. In the United States, the success of these efforts, in part, has hinged on the timely capture and reporting of an unprecedented amount of data from a significantly greater number of administering providers than for routine vaccinations. The pandemic response has highlighted the need to explore the status and value of vaccination data as the critical glue that connects all aspects of the upstream US vaccine development and downstream vaccination delivery system. In this review, we examine immunization information systems and the role that data and staffing play in pandemic responses. We offer three strategic recommendations—regarding funding, expanded provider enrollment, and data reporting—informed by a literature review, a survey and focus group from a convenience sample of 22 immunization jurisdictions, and the vision for enhanced data flow to improve future pandemic responses and routine vaccination.

KEYWORDS:

• Adult immunization
• immunization infrastructure
• COVID-19 vaccination
• immunization information systems

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the members of the Association of Immunization Managers for their thoughtful conversations and to Charlotte Moser, Mary Beth Kurilo, Lonnie Peterson, and Katelyn Wells for their thoughtful review of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.