COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Among North Dakota Residents Who Gave Birth Between April 1, 2021, and July 15, 2022.

Objectives. To assess COVID-19 vaccination rates among North Dakota residents who gave birth. Methods. We used data from North Dakota Vital Records and the North Dakota Immunization Information System for North Dakota residents who gave birth between April 1, 2021, and July 15, 2022. We evaluated vaccination with 1 dose, primary series, and monovalent booster for timing before and during pregnancy and postpartum. Results. Among North Dakota residents who gave birth, 44% received at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine, 34% received a complete primary series, and 10% received a monovalent booster dose. Among those who received a COVID-19 vaccine, the majority was vaccinated during pregnancy. Obstetrics and gynecology providers administered just 9.2% of COVID-19 vaccine doses. Conclusions. Most persons who gave birth in North Dakota did not receive the primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant. Providers have an opportunity to counsel their pregnant and recently pregnant patients on vaccine recommendations. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(2):237-240. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307500).

Understanding Over-immunization in North Dakota's Adult Population.

CONTEXT: Over-immunization, or administration of excess doses of vaccine, is an understudied topic in immunization. Adult over-immunization is particularly understudied, so building a basic understanding of the sources and scope of over-immunization is necessary to direct action. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this evaluation was to quantify the extent of over-immunization in North Dakota's adult population from 2016 to 2021. DESIGN: Records for all pneumococcal, zoster, and influenza vaccines administered to adults in North Dakota were extracted from the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS) from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2021. The NDIIS is a state-wide immunization registry that captures all childhood and most adult immunizations. SETTING: North Dakota. PARTICIPANTS: North Dakotan adults 19 years or older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The number and percentage of adults identified as over-immunized as well as the number and percentage of doses identified as an extra dose. RESULTS: Frequency of over-immunization was less than 3% for all vaccines over the 6-year period assessed. Pharmacies and private practices were the most common sources of over-immunization of adults. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that over-immunization is still an issue in North Dakota, although the percentage of the adult population impacted is low. Reducing over-immunization is worth pursuing but should be balanced with the importance of improving low immunization coverage rates in the state. Improving utilization of the NDIIS by adult providers can help prevent over-immunization and under-immunization alike.

Influenza Vaccinations During the COVID-19 Pandemic - 11 U.S. Jurisdictions, September-December 2020.

Influenza causes considerable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Between 2010 and 2020, an estimated 9-41 million cases resulted in 140,000-710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000-52,000 deaths annually (1). As the United States enters the 2021-22 influenza season, the potential impact of influenza illnesses is of concern given that influenza season will again coincide with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which could further strain overburdened health care systems. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine annual influenza vaccination for the 2021-22 influenza season for all persons aged ≥6 months who have no contraindications (2). To assess the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on influenza vaccination coverage, the percentage change between administration of at least 1 dose of influenza vaccine during September-December 2020 was compared with the average administered in the corresponding periods in 2018 and 2019. The data analyzed were reported from 11 U.S. jurisdictions with high-performing state immunization information systems.* Overall, influenza vaccine administration was 9.0% higher in 2020 compared with the average in 2018 and 2019, combined. However, in 2020, the number of influenza vaccine doses administered to children aged 6-23 months and children aged 2-4 years, was 13.9% and 11.9% lower, respectively than the average for each age group in 2018 and 2019. Strategic efforts are needed to ensure high influenza vaccination coverage among all age groups, especially children aged 6 months-4 years who are not yet eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Administration of influenza vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine among eligible populations is especially important to reduce the potential strain that influenza and COVID-19 cases could place on health care systems already overburdened by COVID-19.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Administration of Selected Routine Childhood and Adolescent Vaccinations - 10 U.S. Jurisdictions, March-September 2020.

After the March 2020 declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, an analysis of provider ordering data from the federally funded Vaccines for Children program found a substantial decrease in routine pediatric vaccine ordering (1), and data from New York City and Michigan indicated sharp declines in routine childhood vaccine administration in these areas (2,3). In November 2020, CDC interim guidance stated that routine vaccination of children and adolescents should remain an essential preventive service during the COVID-19 pandemic (4,5). To further understand the impact of the pandemic on routine childhood and adolescent vaccination, vaccine administration data during March-September 2020 from 10 U.S. jurisdictions with high-performing* immunization information systems were assessed. Fewer administered doses of routine childhood and adolescent vaccines were recorded in all 10 jurisdictions during March-September 2020 compared with those recorded during the same period in 2018 and 2019. The number of vaccine doses administered substantially declined during March-May 2020, when many jurisdictions enacted stay-at-home orders. After many jurisdictions lifted these orders, the number of vaccine doses administered during June-September 2020 approached prepandemic baseline levels, but did not increase to the level that would have been necessary to catch up children who did not receive routine vaccinations on time. This lag in catch-up vaccination might pose a serious public health threat that would result in vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, especially in schools that have reopened for in-person learning. During the past few decades, the United States has achieved a substantial reduction in the prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases driven in large part to the ongoing administration of routinely recommended pediatric vaccines. These efforts need to continue even during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases. Health care providers should assess the vaccination status of all pediatric patients, including adolescents, and contact those who are behind schedule to ensure that all children are fully vaccinated.

Comparing vaccination coverage of American Indian children with White children in North Dakota.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare immunization rates of American Indian (AI) and White children in North Dakota and identify disparities in immunization rates by race. STUDY DESIGN: The study design was to assess immunization coverage rates by race using immunization information system (IIS) data. METHODS: Data from the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS) for children aged 19-35 months during quarter four of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 were used to assess and compare immunization coverage rates for AI and White children. NDIIS data were also analyzed for timeliness of vaccine administration, Vaccines for Children (VFC) status, and the number of doses still needed to be considered up to date (UTD) with routinely recommended immunizations. RESULTS: In quarter four of 2018 (Q4 2018), only 60% of AI children were UTD with the complete 4:3:1:3:3:1:4 vaccine series compared with 74.5% of White children of the same age. Fewer VFC-eligible AI children (59.1%) are UTD than VFC-eligible White children (68.7%). AI children were also more likely to be delayed at each immunization milestone, leading to fewer AI children to be UTD by 19 to 35 months of age. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that there is a racial disparity in immunization coverage rates between AI and White children in North Dakota. Public health and private healthcare providers should work to identify and address barriers to vaccination and should implement strategies to increase immunization rates for AI children.

Using the North Dakota IIS to Assess the Response of Health Care Providers to the ACIP Recommendation for Tdap Vaccination During Pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the response of North Dakota health care providers to follow the recommendation set forth by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to administer a dose of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine to women during each pregnancy using the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS). METHODS: Data from the NDIIS for North Dakota infants born during calendar years 2013-2018 were extracted. Mother's name was taken from the newborn records and matched to NDIIS female client records to identify the population of mothers of newborns who would have been recommended to receive Tdap during their pregnancy. Doses of Tdap vaccine administered after October 1, 2012, were extracted from the NDIIS, and the dose records were matched back to the mother's record. The time from baby's birthdate back to the doses of Tdap vaccine administered to the mother was measured to find any doses that would have been administered during pregnancy. RESULTS: The percentage of women receiving Tdap vaccine during pregnancy increased from 31.5% in 2013 to 60.6% in 2018. Of those women who received Tdap during pregnancy, 94% received the vaccine during the ACIP-recommended interval of 27 to 36 weeks' gestation, using the assumption that all babies were born at 40 weeks' gestation. CONCLUSIONS: North Dakota health care providers have responded positively to the recommendation of the ACIP to administer a dose of Tdap vaccine to women during each pregnancy and have increased their administration of the vaccine to their patients.

The impact of electronic health record (EHR) interoperability on immunization information system (IIS) data quality.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of electronic health record (EHR) interoperability on the quality of immunization data in the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS). Methods: NDIIS doses administered data was evaluated for completeness of the patient and dose-level core data elements for records that belong to interoperable and non-interoperable providers. Data was compared at three months prior to electronic health record (EHR) interoperability enhancement to data at three, six, nine and twelve months post-enhancement following the interoperability go live date. Doses administered per month and by age group, timeliness of vaccine entry and the number of duplicate clients added to the NDIIS was also compared, in addition to, immunization rates for children 19 - 35 months of age and adolescents 11 - 18 years of age. Results: Doses administered by both interoperable and non-interoperable providers remained fairly consistent from pre-enhancement through twelve months post-enhancement. Comparing immunization rates for infants and adolescents, interoperable providers had higher rates both pre- and post-enhancement than non-interoperable providers for all vaccines and vaccine series assessed. The overall percentage of doses entered into the NDIIS within one month of administration varied slightly between interoperable and non-interoperable providers; however, there were significant changes between the percentage of doses entered within one day and within one week with the percentage entered within one day increasing and within one week decreasing with interoperability. The number of duplicate client records created by interoperable providers increased from 94 duplicates pre-enhancement to 10,552 at twelve months post-enhancement, while the duplicates from non-interoperable providers only increased from 300 to 637 over the same period. Of the 40 core data elements in the NDIIS, there was some difference in completeness between the interoperable versus non-interoperable providers. Only middle name, sex, county, phone number, mother's maiden name, vaccine manufacturer, lot number and expiration date were significantly (>=5%) different between the two provider groups. Conclusions: Interoperability with provider EHRs has had an impact on NDIIS data quality. Timeliness of data entry has improved and overall doses administered have remained fairly consistent, as have the immunization rates for the providers assessed. There are more technical and non-technical interventions that will need to be accomplished by NDIIS staff and vendor to help reduce the negative impact of duplicate record creation, as well as, data completeness.