The state Department of Health Disease Outbreak Control Division has a new system in place to better organize coronavirus vaccine records.
The Hawaiʻi Immunization Registry works with all coronavirus vaccine providers in the state. Providers submit their data on an individual's vaccination history to the registry.
The state previously used the Vaccine Administration Management System under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. VAMS was not able to accurately categorize booster shots, the state said.
"The Immunization Registry also allows us to better determine where a person lives. It helps us spot visitors who were vaccinated here, and allows us to remove them from specific data sets," said state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble.
"Bringing the Immunization Registry online will also help us to resolve the long-standing discrepancies between our vaccination data and the data the CDC has been recording," Kemble explained in a press conference.
The updated vaccination data shows that 71% of Hawaiʻi residents have completed their primary series of vaccinations, and 77% have received at least one shot as of Nov. 29. Over 200,000 residents have received their booster shots.
The Hawaiʻi Immunization Registry already stored immunization records for 25 other diseases like polio, measles and mumps — but the system was under repair when the pandemic began, the state said.
