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Happy 2025!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. At AIRA, we wrapped up 2024 with a packed schedule and are excited for the slight change of pace January will bring.
Mary Beth Kurilo and I were both able to attend the Joint Public Health Informatics Task Force (JPHIT) meeting held in Washington, D.C. on December 3. The meeting focused on developing a clear strategic plan to ensure that public health is able to speak with one voice on informatics topics such as funding, policy, and modernization.
Following the JPHIT meeting, Mary Beth Kurilo, Eric Larson, and Chris Sorenson represented AIRA at the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) Annual Meeting, held December 4–5 in Washington, D.C. The action-packed two-day meeting featured discussions and panels on a broad range of health IT topics. Highlights included the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and the uses and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical and health IT settings. The meeting also featured an address from Micky Tripathi, Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
On Friday, December 6, Nathan Bunker traveled to Bordeaux, France, to meet with the Système d’Aide à la Décision Médicale (SYADEM) team. SYADEM showcased their software, which integrates IIS functionality with a school health module to track HPV vaccination campaigns in French high schools. The system manages consent and monitors progress for first and second doses. A notable feature is a natural language query tool, powered by ChatGPT, enabling administrators to quickly generate and refine local data queries securely.
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The meeting also included planning for the first International Vaccine Code (IVC) meeting scheduled for May 9, 2025, in Bordeaux. Hosted by SYADEM and facilitated by AIRA, the meeting will focus on supporting the Universal Nomenclature for Vaccinations (NUVA), SNOMED integration, WHO efforts, and establishing IVC as a resource for national vaccine coding experts.
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Mary Beth and I also attended the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) Leadership in Action meeting in New Orleans, December 9–12. The AIM meeting focused on developing leadership and supervision skills across the community, as well as offering invaluable presentations from jurisdictions and CDC. Keynote speakers included Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Director of NCIRD, and Dr. Katelyn Jetalina, better known as “Your Local Epidemiologist.” AIRA received the Partnership Award during the AIM award ceremony. We are truly honored to receive this special recognition.
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To close out the month of December, AIRA hosted its final Discovery Session of the year, Introduction to the 2024 Immunization Information Systems Annual Report (IISAR). Thank you so much to Terence Ng and Lauren Shaw from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for their valuable contributions, and to all who participated!
Looking ahead:
- The content submission deadline for the March edition of SnapShots is January 13
- Register for the January 13 Discovery Session, Artificial Intelligence & IIS
- View the newly released 2024 Annual Report, highlighting key milestones, initiatives, and the partnerships that have been pivotal to our progress
Here’s to a collaborative, innovative, and successful 2025!
Kindly,
Rebecca Coyle, MSEd
Executive Director
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AIRA’s 2024 Annual Report Is Now Available!
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We’re excited to announce the release of AIRA’s 2024 Annual Report, celebrating a year of collaboration and progress in advancing IIS! Guided by our mission to ensure healthy communities, this report showcases the milestones achieved, the initiatives driving progress in IIS, and the invaluable partnerships that make it all possible.
Thank you for being an essential part of AIRA’s mission and success!
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Register for the January Discovery Session: Artificial Intelligence & IIS
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Join us on Monday, January 13 from 4 to 5 p.m. ET for an engaging Discovery Session where we explore artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial intelligence is reshaping the world around us, offering innovative applications for immunization information systems (IIS).
Join us to explore:
- The fundamentals of AI and its history
- Applications of AI in public health
- Opportunities and challenges in adopting AI
- How one IIS hopes to use AI in the future
This session will spark ideas for leveraging AI to enhance your IIS operations. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how AI can empower your work!
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Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email with calendar links for easy access. If you can’t make it, a recording will be available in the AIRA Repository. We hope you’ll join us on January 13!
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Register for the AIRA 2025 National Meeting
Registration is open for the AIRA 2025 National Meeting, taking place at the Davenport Grand Hotel, 333 W. Spokane Falls Boulevard, Spokane, WA 99201. Located just steps from Riverfront Park and downtown attractions, this year’s venue offers a perfect backdrop for collaboration and learning. The AIRA room block is filling up quickly so be sure to reserve your hotel room soon!
The meeting kicks off a day early on Monday with a dynamic opening plenary, educational workshops, and a lively networking reception to set the tone for the week. Join us to explore the latest in IIS, reconnect with colleagues, and soak in Spokane’s scenic views and vibrant city charm.
We can’t wait to see you there! 🌲
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Information Request Raffle and Recognition Initiative
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AIRA is dedicated to fostering the exchange of ideas and insights within the IIS community, and we want to ensure that your invaluable responses to information requests are both recognized and appreciated. With this, AIRA is launching a new initiative. Starting now, anyone who provides a meaningful response* to an information request will be entered into a raffle to win a $25 gift card and will also be recognized during the AIRA 2025 National Meeting awards ceremony. Additionally, anyone who has responded to an information request since the AIRA 2024 National Meeting will be included in the raffle and honored during the awards ceremony.
At AIRA, we are incredibly grateful for the knowledge and insights you share through participation in AIRA workgroups, committees, contributions to our newsletters, and, of course, your responses to information requests. Your contributions are indispensable to both AIRA and the IIS community.
*Only responses that address the information request will be eligible for entry into the raffle. Submissions made solely for the purpose of entering the raffle, without providing the requested information, will not be considered.
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Submit for the March Edition of SnapShots
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AIRA Awarded the AIM Partnership Award
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At the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) Leadership in Action Conference, AIRA was honored to receive the 2024 AIM Partnership Award! This award recognizes collaborators who, in partnership with AIM, implement projects that deliver valuable resources or services to AIM members.
AIRA was selected for this recognition because of our commitment to supporting immunization programs’ use of immunization information systems (IIS) and advancing the nation’s leading public health information infrastructure.
As we step into the new year, we look forward to continued collaboration with AIM and the opportunities that lie ahead. 🤝
Learn more about the AIM award winners.
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Important: Smarty License Upgrade in Effect!
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As a reminder, AIRA’s Smarty license has been upgraded from the legacy Standard Edition to the Core Edition of the US Address Verification service. This upgrade to the Core Edition provides additional benefits, including enhanced matching capabilities and access to 20 million non-USPS addresses. Non-postal addresses are locations where people live and work, even where USPS does not deliver mail but where packages can be delivered.
While the license has been upgraded, not all Smarty users will be impacted.
- Smarty users that currently specify the license value of “us-standard-cloud” in their HTTP requests MUST update it to “us-core-enterprise-cloud” to continue service.
- Users that do not specify a license value in their API calls to Smarty do not need to make a change.
To access the enhanced functionality, users will need to update their HTTP requests or SDKs. For assistance, please contact Tesha Lucas at Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser..
Smarty will continue to support the legacy license until January 31, 2025. After that, API calls using the legacy license will result in a payment error.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Tesha Lucas.
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The Podcast “On the Evidence” Discusses Pew Charitable Trusts’ Report
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AIRA’s Mary Beth Kurilo recently joined three other experts on Mathematica’s podcast "On the Evidence." The episode explores public health data policies and practices highlighted in the groundbreaking Pew Charitable Trusts report.
Tune in to hear these public health professionals discuss the current state of the nation’s public health data policies and practices.
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Important: Updates to IIS Technology Partner Product Testing and Validation
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Since 2020, IIS technology partner product testing and validation have been offered through Measurement and Improvement (M&I). This process provides IIS technology partners with an objective, independent assessment of their base products or modular components. The available data enables IIS technology partners to share their progress toward meeting national standards with the broader IIS community. The results can be shared with current and potential IIS customers and/or be used to make enhancements to more closely align with standards.
In November 2024, the Measurement for Assessment and Certification Workgroup (MACAW) approved updates to product testing and validation. IIS technology partner products are now eligible to receive Validation status at the complete level only if they opt into Validation. To reflect this change, AART will display only complete levels of Validation for IIS technology partner products.
If IIS technology partners have questions, please fill out the AIRA Technical Assistance Requests form or email Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser..
To learn more, visit the AIRA Repository for these resources:
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AIRA Employment Opportunities
There are no current opportunities at this time.
Opportunities for Independent Contractors
To be notified of future contracting opportunities, please sign up here.
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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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"It's the movement that counts...not its final form." ✍
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American Immunization Registry Association
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 1025
Washington, DC 20006
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© Copyright 2023, American Immunization Registry Association
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