November 18, 2005 -- CDC Reports Progress on Immunization Registries

As of year 2004, eight states and two large cities had at least 95 percent of children younger than age six enrolled in fully operational, population-based immunization registries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced November 18. "Immunization registries" are defined by the CDC as "confidential, computerized, information systems that collect and consolidate vaccination data from multiple health care providers, generate reminder and recall notifications, and assess vaccination coverage within a defined geographic area." Some registries with additional capabilities, such as vaccine management, adverse event reporting, lifespan vaccination histories, and linkages with electronic data sources, are called "immunization information systems." The 2004 data show, the CDC said, that the states of Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Michigan, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin, and two cities--New York City and Philadelphia-have reached a national health objective of having 95 percent or more of children under six enrolled in immunization registries. An additional seven states-Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Tennessee-have participation rates of 81 percent to 94 percent. "Participation” is defined as a child having two or more vaccinations recorded in an immunization information system. The report, “Immunization Information System Progress—United States, 2004,” appeared in the November 18 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and can be accessed at www.cdc.gov/mmwr.