Immunization (IZ) Gateway

There are currently gaps in immunization data exchange between immunization registries, providers, and patients. The HHS Office of the CTO, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is leading innovation to support seamless data access and exchange of immunization data through the IZ Gateway Project.

Immunization Information Systems, or IIS, support health care providers, families, and public health through consolidating immunization information into one reliable source.  There are 64 different IIS serving states and regions throughout the United States. These systems consolidate and deduplicate both patients and their vaccinations. In addition, IIS provide forecasting algorithms to help families stay up to date on their vaccines.

However, electronic connectivity and submission gaps impact the completeness of patient immunization records and the ease of access of the records by patients, providers, and other IIS jurisdictions.

The IZ Gateway

The Immunization Gateway, IZ Gateway for short, aims to increase the availability and volume of complete and accurate immunization data stored within IIS and available to providers and consumers regardless of their jurisdictional boundaries.

The IZ Gateway provides a centralized technical infrastructure that facilitates the flow of immunization data through an intelligent message router between IISs, large multi-jurisdictional provider organizations to IIS, and from IIS to consumers.

The Gateway is sponsored by the CDC Immunization Information Systems Support Branch and led by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the CTO. The IZ Gateway is securely hosted on AWS through the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL).

The IZ Gateway includes a portfolio of components related to IIS.  These efforts include:

1. Connect: National Provider Organizations to Multiple IIS
2. Share: Cross-Jurisdictional IIS to IIS
3. Access: Consumer Access to IIS through Digital Tools
4. Provider-Initiated Multijurisdictional Data Exchange: Query multiple jurisdictions to receive consolidated immunization data

The IZ Gateway for COVID-19 Vaccine Readiness

With a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the future, provider organizations and other vaccine administration sites will need to connect to state immunization registries. The CDC anticipates that the IZ Gateway will play a role in a coordinated COVID-19 vaccination response by streamlining these connections and ensuring more up-to-date exchange of immunization data.

To prepare for this response, the IZ Gateway aims to rapidly onboard IIS to support state readiness for a COVID-19 vaccine response through data exchange, both among IIS and between IIS and federal provider/mass vaccination reporting and consumer access tools.

Blog Posts and Ways to Learn More

Learn more about the IZ Gateway and how to participate in the components by contacting [email protected].

IZ Gateway Overview*

Model Business Associated Agreement*

APHL-AIMS DUA Generic Version*

Public Health IIS Interjurisdictional Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Immunization Records for Healthy People

Access to Immunization Records Empowers Families In Washington to Protect Themselves From Measles Outbreak

Bridging the Divide: Office of CTO Works to Connect Immunization Data

* This content is in the process of Section 508 review. If you need immediate assistance accessing this content, please submit a request to [email protected]. Content will be updated pending the outcome of the Section 508 review.