Measuring Up - A Health Surveillance Update on Canadian Children and Youth

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Future Developments - National Immunization Registry

The ability to accurately track vaccine coverage in the population is a central component of overall immunization efforts. A barrier to achieving this goal at the national, provincial and local levels is the absence of standard information systems for immunization coverage. To address this gap, a national consensus conference sponsored by Health Canada in 1998 concluded that all provinces and territories should establish comprehensive immunization tracking systems within a five-year time period. The National Immunization Records Network will support the development and integration of immunization registries across Canada. Potential benefits of this enhanced immunization information system include the ability to easily access up-to-date individual immunization records and the assessment of vaccine coverage at the local level leading to targeted immunization programming. As well, consistent and current immunization information from all provinces and territories will allow a timely and accurate assessment of vaccine coverage at the national level.

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