Measuring the Success of the US COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign-It's Time to Invest in and Strengthen Immunization Information Systems.

Abstract

With the recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the United States has begun COVID-19 vaccine dissemination. The vaccination program is historic in its massive scope and complexity. It requires accurate, real-time estimates of vaccine coverage to assess progress toward achieving herd immunity. Under Operation Warp Speed, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has constructed a federal database, or "data lake," to monitor vaccine coverage nationwide and ensure that recipients receive both of the necessary doses. The data lake will be managed separately from existing state and local immunization information systems (IISs), which house vaccine data in all 50 states, five cities, the District of Columbia, and eight territories. In an open letter to the Director of the CDC in late 2020, four organizations representing immunization managers and public health officials expressed concerns about the plan to include vaccine recipients' personal identifier information in the data lake.1 They also urged stronger coordination with IISs. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print Feburary 18, 2021: e1-e3. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306177).