Nova Scotia lacks ability to quickly track vaccination records: health official

Nova Scotia’s deputy chief medical officer of health says the province lacks a centralized electronic system to quickly track vaccination records.

Dr. Frank Atherton says the records system is currently paper-based and the documents are held by the district health authorities, which makes it difficult to find out how many children are vaccinated.

Atherton says the province is able to quickly recognize and respond to disease outbreaks through its reporting system, but it needs a central vaccine registry to target individuals and areas where there are low vaccination rates.

Acting deputy health minister Francis Martin says the province is working on a records registry in collaboration with the other Atlantic provinces.

Martin says the Health Department will be forwarding a budget proposal for 2015-16.

Atherton and Martin appeared today before the legislature’s public accounts committee.

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