As vaccination rates fell off a cliff during the pandemic's first year, GSK and IQVIA are creating a platform to track how well shots are being taken up across the U.S.
That platform, known simply as Vaccine Track, has been set up to be used by public health officials, industry leaders and medical professionals to “strengthen vaccination data transparency, raise awareness and publicly share vaccination trends to aid improvements in routine adult vaccinations to create healthier communities across the U.S.,” the Big Pharma said in a press release.
As of now, Vaccine Track spans information from January 2019 to December 2021 and will be updated on a quarterly basis. It gleans data from across medical claims data and prescription data, though vaccines given in institutional or hospital settings are not accounted for.
GSK sells a host of vaccines including for hepatitis A and B, influenza, shingles, measles, mumps and rubella and rotavirus, to name but a few, and is also working on COVID vaccines.
Last summer, it revealed that routine vaccinations had plummeted during the start of the pandemic. Its data showed that more than 26 million doses of recommended vaccines were missed from January through November in 2020.
“This is significant because even small drops in immunizations can lead to a resurgence of disease,” GSK added in its statement.
Numbers have since been steadily climbing back up, but there are concerns that this loss of routine shots may have an ongoing impact if those who have missed their shots do not get caught up.
The U.K.-based company will also want to ensure that its vaccine business continues to have a market, and a strong one, to sell into.
The idea behind Vaccine Track is to spotlight the trends so as to “focus and enhance public health efforts” and shore up vaccination rates.
GSK says the tracker can highlight the vaccination trends for adults 19-plus in the U.S. “across multiple vaccines” and is able to highlight where differences exist based on demographics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, gender, payer type).
“For the first time, Vaccine Track brings quarterly data tracking and trends together in a comprehensive platform for immunization partners, decision makers and stakeholders,” said Judy Stewart, GSK Senior Vice President and Head of U.S. Vaccines, in the release.
“Our goal for Vaccine Track is to support the return to pre-pandemic vaccination rates for adults and to go beyond by empowering the vaccine and public health community with frequently updated, actionable information to get ahead of disease together. Access to this new set of data, paired with existing data, provides an opportunity for the public health community to work together to increase immunization and prevent disease and death.”