CDC to modernize VAERS

With the heat on to monitor the safety of vaccines, the CDC is calling for a new electronic system that can swiftly gather reports of adverse events from around the country. Right now 80 percent of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is paper-based, says the CDC, which plans to up its investment into research on vaccine safety. The VAERS gathers reports on adverse events from doctors, manufacturers and an array of other sources. And it was given credit for flagging safety problems associated with the RotaShield rotavirus vaccine, which was taken off of the market.

New IT could also provide a more efficient way to gather vaccine data from eight big managed care organizations, offering a real-time look at the adverse events triggered by new vaccines. And analysts note that an electronic system is necessary to monitor the growing number of vaccines on the market. There are currently 59 vaccines in use.

- read the report from Government Health IT

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