The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has announced that it will roll out phase two of the California Immunization Registry (CAIR) this month, beginning with the Bay Area and Central Valley counties. A phase three update for Southern California is expected to begin in March.

CAIR is a collaboration of immunization registries that ensures the secure, electronic exchange of immunization records to support the elimination of vaccine-preventable diseases. CDPH is working to develop an integrated, secure, readily-accessible statewide network of computerized immunization information systems to make each child’s full immunization history available to providers and other authorized users, such as schools, foster care and juvenile detention centers. The CAIR2 system will ensure that users have rapid access to complete and up-to-date immunization records, as well as expert vaccine forecasting. A major objective is to eliminate both missed opportunities to immunize and unnecessary duplicate immunizations.

CAIR is a consortium of 10 regional registries using four different softwares. Seven of the 10 regional registries (Northern California, Greater Sacramento, Bay Area, Central Valley, Central Coast, LA-Orange and Inland Empire) are managed by CDPH. The CAIR2 project will combine these seven regions into a single, centralized registry to be known as CAIR2 that will use new software. CDPH says the CAIR2 update will allow real-time updates and faster access to the database in any web browser. This process should be completed by April 2017.

While the three other regional registries (San Diego, San Joaquin and Imperial) will continue to use their own software, all their patient records will be accessible through CAIR2 beginning in the summer/fall of 2017.

Click here for more information about the CAIR2 update.