April has officially arrived, so it’s time to dust off your rainboots for April showers—or just keep wearing those snow boots if you are still feeling the roar of March like I am. The first week of April brings both Adolescent Immunization Action Week 2023 (AIAW23) and National Public Health Week! I hope you can take some time during these next couple of days to reflect, observe, and celebrate all the hard work and progress being made on immunization. At AIRA we love highlighting all the amazing work being done in our community whenever possible. If you have news about progress, best practices, and/or accomplishments you would like to share with the community, we are now accepting articles for SnapShots, our quarterly newsletter. And if you haven’t already, check out our recently published March edition of SnapShots!
Looking forward, there is still time to register for the AIRA 2023 National Meeting! As of today, there are officially 27 days left before we gather in San Diego, California, so be sure to register soon. AIRA’s Immunization Integration Program (IIP) team will be in Chicago for the HIMSS23 conference later this month. Be sure to connect with them during their sessions if you plan to attend.
In March, we submitted comments to a request for information from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization. We highlighted the role of IIS in preparedness activities and advocated for the inclusion of IIS in preparedness activities going forward. And last, but certainly not least, we shared in March that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with AIRA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is launching an Implementation Guide Expert Group in late spring 2023. This group will be responsible for developing the National Release 1.6 of the Implementation Guide (IG) for Immunization Messaging. If you have HL7/IIS technical and immunization program subject matter expertise and are interested in being a part of this group, consider reaching out to Chrissy Miner for more information.
Wishing you a happy and warm April!
Rebecca Coyle, MSEd
Executive Director
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AIRA 2023 National Meeting Update
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Attending the AIRA National Meeting? Time to sign up for your AART clinic!
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AIRA is excited to offer personalized sessions for IIS teams to meet with AIRA technical staff to review AART (Aggregate Analysis Reporting Tool) testing results and discuss practical recommendations for improvements. Please refer to AIRA’s Agenda at a Glance to reserve a time that works for your IIS team. To maximize your interactive session experience, we encourage you to invite your CDC IIS SME and prepare a few questions in advance. Please contact Assiatou Diallo for more information. Reserve your team’s AART clinic appointment today!
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Observing National Public Health Week
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This week is also National Public Health Week! During the first week of April, the American Public Health Association (APHA) chooses a topic or theme to commemorate and highlight important contributions and or issues in public health.
This year, as a public health community, we are recognizing “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health.” Together we can help ensure everyone in all cultural communities has a chance at a long and healthy life.
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With Spring comes April showers, May flowers, and the March 2023 edition of SnapShots, AIRA's quarterly newsletter that highlights the progress, best practices, and accomplishments of IIS. This edition of SnapShots features articles on bidirectional data exchange between IIS and school districts, PHII's eLearnings, and Virginia's in-house pandemic response tool.
We would love to showcase your work in an upcoming edition of Snapshots! Articles are accepted on a rolling basis, so please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any articles or ideas for future editions.
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National IG Release 1.6: Call for experts, influencers, and advisors
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CDC, in collaboration with AIRA and NIST, is launching an Implementation Guide Expert Group in late spring 2023 to facilitate and contribute to the development of the national Release 1.6 of the Implementation Guide (IG) for Immunization Messaging.
Immunization community and IT professionals with HL7/IIS technical and immunization program subject matter expertise are invited to join the IG Expert Group to shape the next release.
Contact Chrissy Miner at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more and join this critical national effort!
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Register today for the upcoming AIRA Members and Partners Meeting
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Please join us for the upcoming AIRA Members and Partners meeting on Monday, April 17, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. AIRA Members and Partners quarterly meetings provide important updates from AIRA and partner organizations and are a great way to get a high-level overview of the activities going on within the IIS and immunization community.
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We hope you can join us. Recordings of past meetings can be found in the AIRA repository.
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How to build resiliency and prevent burnout while preparing for the next pandemic | Register today!
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Join us for our next discovery session on Monday, April 24 at 4 p.m. ET and listen to Dr. Anne Schuchat share approaches for building resiliency and preventing staff burnout in the IIS community. Participants will learn about:
- The power of story, community, and people coming together to create change
- The importance of IIS data and using data to inform public health decisions
- Data modernization and the unique challenges in communicating immunization data
- Using empathy in communication and maintaining partnerships that have been formed during COVID
- Practicing resilience by engaging in self-care
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Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email which contains links to add the meeting to your calendar.
If you’re unable to attend, this session will be recorded and available in the AIRA repository.
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Washington State Department of Health is interested in learning more about requirements for authorizing access to the IIS. In Washington state, any facility wanting access to the IIS is required to sign an information sharing agreement (ISA). There are two signature blocks for the ISA. The first one is for the authorized representative of the organization. The second one is for a licensed medical provider. For the latter, they are currently redefining which licensed providers have the qualifications to sign the agreement. Washington state would like to know if other states require a licensed medical provider to sign an agreement to gain IIS access and, if so, what guidelines are in place.
If you are willing to share information, please reach out to the Washington State Health Department and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by today, April 5 and don’t forget to include your contact information for follow-up.
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Committee and Workgroup Updates
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HL7 Immunization User Group
- The HL7 Immunization User Group met on March 9, 2023. The next meeting is Thursday, May 11, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
- Attendees received updates about the HL7 Immunizations Innovations Workgroup.
Read More
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Tableau User Group (TUG)
- The Tableau User Group (TUG) met on March 28. The next meeting is Tuesday, May 23, noon to 1 p.m. ET.
- This month Katie Cruz, from the New Mexico Department of Health, presented “Welcome to the Data Zone.”
Read More
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Check out the AIRA Calendar for upcoming events!
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Stay up to date on upcoming AIRA committees, board meetings, webinars, events, and more.
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The importance of communication and inclusion:
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American Immunization Registry Association
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Washington, DC 20006
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© Copyright 2023, American Immunization Registry Association
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