New Hampshire gets second chance at creating vaccination database - The Laconia Daily Sun

In a unanimous vote, New Hampshire's Executive Council decided to accept $1.5 million in federal funding to establish a vaccination database, giving it a chance to recover from an earlier attempt that did not go through.

The grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will aggregate records of immunizations given by participating providers, according to information from a Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) document on the Concord Monitor website.

New Hampshire had been the only state without such a database.

In announcing their unanimous decision, council members questioned why the DHHS had not followed through on a 2014 contract for $1.3 million that was supposed to create New Hampshire’s registry.

Public health officials put the money toward an ordering and inventory system to distribute vaccines, but fell short of full implementation of the registry because of software concerns, according to the Monitor.

“I am a strong believer that we should have an Immunization Registry and pleased our vote means now all 50 States will,” Councilor Michael Cryans, D-Hanover, said in an email response to The Center Square.

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“I was disappointed it did not complete that process the first time five years ago but have confidence the leadership at DHHS will make it happen this time,” Cryans added. “The 5-0 vote means the Council unanimously wants it to happen but will also be vigilant in its oversight.”

State officials still have to negotiate a contract with a vendor and bring it to the Executive Council for final approval.

Under the terms of the CDC grant, the state has until June 2020 to establish its contract with a new vendor.