Public Health Informatics - The vaccine registry in Texas

n 350-450 words, respond to the following prompt. Be sure to have citations and references in your post.

Prompts:

The vaccine registry in Texas (ImmTrac) brings together information submitted by physician offices, hospitals, and public health departments when they provide immunizations. These individual records are aggregated to give us a picture of the overall number of children who have been vaccinated in the State of Texas and the nation. Families can opt out of getting vaccinations for children by submitting a conscientious exemption, typically for religious reasons. This information can be very valuable during outbreaks of illness. Knowing where pockets of unvaccinated children live can help the Department of State Health Services focus their efforts. While vaccines are very safe, in rare instances there are adverse events. Because vaccines are often required to participate in public events (like school) it is important to continue to ensure their safety. Information about Notifiable Conditions helps the State of Texas track the number of people who become ill with Vaccine Preventable illnesses.

1) Visit The Infectious Disease Control Unit website at the Texas Department of State Health Services, and read about the following:

• Notifiable Conditions - https://www.dshs.texas.gov/idcu/investigation/conditions (Links to an external site.)
• Electronic Laboratory Reporting - https://www.dshs.texas.gov/IDCU/investigation/ELR/Electronic-Laboratory-Reporting.doc (Links to an external site.)

2) Visit ImmTrac2 at Texas Department of State Health Services and look over the conscientious exemptions data (Links to an external site.).

Post to the discussion board describing this data. Investigate the sources of the data. What are some factors impacting the quality and reliability/completeness of the data? Also, look at trends or points in the data. Why do certain counties have higher numbers of vaccine conscientious exemptions, especially varying rates in counties that are close together like Denton, Dallas, and Tarrant Counties?