Why collect individual-level vaccination data?

Canada has been developing a national network of immunization registries since 1998. In March 2004, in response to the lessons learned from the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), the federal government called for the creation of a pan-Canadian system to collect, analyze and disseminate public health surveillance data for the management of infectious diseases. The resulting system, Panorama, will include an immunization registry that likely will prove valuable for responding to public health emergencies and evaluating vaccines. However, not all provinces and territories are adopting Panorama, and the staggered rollout of the system in the participating provinces will not occur until between 2010 and 2012. It has not been possible for all jurisdictions to mobilize quickly enough to collect data on pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccination. However, it is apparent that alternative—and for some jurisdictions, temporary—strategies to collect individual-level data are needed to ensure optimal responses against all vaccine-preventable diseases, including future pandemics.