2022 Bull’s-Eye Award Winner
Strategy
Develop partnerships between databases to measure vaccine uptake in populations of interest.
Challenge
The Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC) is Minnesota’s Immunization Information System (IIS). While the MIIC had name and contact data on the majority of Minnesotans who received a non-federally administered COVID-19 vaccine, it was severely lacking in metric data on health equity. While there was some data on race and ethnicity, this data was incomplete. Other socioeconomic metrics, such as incarceration or homelessness, were not included. This lack of information made it difficult to effectively analyze the data.
Solution
The Minnesota Department of Health partnered with the Minnesota Electronic Health Record Consortium (EHRC). The EHRC collects data from the ten largest health systems in Minnesota and some Veterans Affairs data. Data from these sources were securely matched to provide more detailed profiles of Minnesotans who have received COVID-19 vaccinations.
The funding for this project was provided by the CDC COVID-19 Cooperative Agreement.
Outcome
Combining the limited data from the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC) with the more expansive data from the Minnesota Electronic Health Record (EHRC) allowed data analysts to provide a more robust view of immunization practices across the state. The reported health equity data has been accessed by providers across Minnesota and has been a reference point for news articles and publications, including vaccine efficacy studies and reports on vaccine uptake in specific populations. The data has also been used to assess where vaccine accessibility and hesitancy are issues to better tailor public health outreach.
Supplemental Materials