This appeared on the editorial page of this mornin
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Posted On: 04/30/2020 11:36:39 AM
This appeared on the editorial page of this morning’s Seattle Times. Our immunization passport is an ideal complement to the data base this article describes is needed for Washington state. The data base is only part of the story. You need what we offer to make this work.
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-need...-database/
Opinion
The need for a revamped Washington state vaccine database
April 29, 2020 at 2:33 pm
While all immunizations administered to children are entered into safe and secure databases that can be easily accessed through the state immunization information system, there is no mandate or standard for record-keeping of adult vaccinations. As a result, most adults not only aren’t up-to-date on recommended vaccines, they also don’t know which vaccines they have or haven’t received. Health-care providers struggle to collect, collate, update and review immunization records from disparate sources.
Current guidelines recommend that health-care workers should not trust a patient’s self-reported receipt of vaccination if there is no written documentation (except for the case of influenza or pneumococcal vaccine). As a result, when patients are uncertain about their immunization status, health-care workers are forced to re-administer a vaccine that is potentially unnecessary or spend extensive time sifting through disjointed networks of health records for clarification. Ultimately, efforts at preventive care are being hamstrung by the complexity of tracking vaccines from pharmacies, hospitals, primary-care offices and sub-specialists, all practicing as a patchwork of different entities with their own unique methods of tracking and optional reporting.
As COVID-19 spreads and mutates, it will be more critical than ever that health-care workers know who has been immunized. Perhaps of equal importance will be to know who has been immunized against which strain of coronavirus and with which particular vaccine. Without an organized and coherent statewide database, it will be near impossible to implement coronavirus immunization strategies.
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-need...-database/
Opinion
The need for a revamped Washington state vaccine database
April 29, 2020 at 2:33 pm
While all immunizations administered to children are entered into safe and secure databases that can be easily accessed through the state immunization information system, there is no mandate or standard for record-keeping of adult vaccinations. As a result, most adults not only aren’t up-to-date on recommended vaccines, they also don’t know which vaccines they have or haven’t received. Health-care providers struggle to collect, collate, update and review immunization records from disparate sources.
Current guidelines recommend that health-care workers should not trust a patient’s self-reported receipt of vaccination if there is no written documentation (except for the case of influenza or pneumococcal vaccine). As a result, when patients are uncertain about their immunization status, health-care workers are forced to re-administer a vaccine that is potentially unnecessary or spend extensive time sifting through disjointed networks of health records for clarification. Ultimately, efforts at preventive care are being hamstrung by the complexity of tracking vaccines from pharmacies, hospitals, primary-care offices and sub-specialists, all practicing as a patchwork of different entities with their own unique methods of tracking and optional reporting.
As COVID-19 spreads and mutates, it will be more critical than ever that health-care workers know who has been immunized. Perhaps of equal importance will be to know who has been immunized against which strain of coronavirus and with which particular vaccine. Without an organized and coherent statewide database, it will be near impossible to implement coronavirus immunization strategies.
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