Systems like Ms. Tate’s VAMS and PrepMod work in conjunction with state immunization records, allowing patients to enter their own data when they make an appointment, which can speed up the vaccination process. As soon as patients receive their vaccines, the provider can send the data – along with the batch number and other relevant information – to state records.
Mr. Gandal, from Deloitte, said his company was “hired to deliver a system for the early stages of vaccine administration, focused on frontline workers”, adding that VAMS “worked as designed, with performance and availability consistent and strong system ”.
The system was not designed to be used by all states “at various stages” of the vaccination campaign, he said. But the CDC decided to make it available to states for long-term use, “requiring additional support”. Some states hesitated.
“Some states have considered making a complete change from their system to VAMS, and many of them have decided that it was not the most prudent thing to do,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Officers of Cheers.
He said he told the CDC that the money would be better spent reinforcing existing state records.
Once implemented, the Deloitte system was fraught with problems. It was to operate as part of an information sharing network through a federal platform called IZ Gateway, created to allow state registries to send information to each other, and CDC information sharing is vital, experts say, especially in cases where people live in one state, but get vaccinated in another, or move from one state to another between doses.
But VAMS was unable to connect to the IZ Gateway, said Rebecca Coyle, executive director of the American Immunization Registry Association. This forced the CDC to create an “alternative solution,” she said, adding that she believes the problem is being resolved.