Frequently Asked Questions

Vaccine Track was created by GSK and IQVIA in 2022 for the purpose of providing the first comprehensive data tool for understanding adult vaccination trends in the US. Its mission is to empower public health leaders, policymakers, providers and individuals with transparent, up-to-date data that can inform immunization decisions and promote healthier communities.

Vaccine Track is the only publicly accessible source for month-to-month US vaccination data across a host of different adult vaccines.

When providers administer vaccines to patients, they submit a claim for billing or reimbursement. The claim can either be billed to the patient’s health insurance or to the patients themselves (cash claim). Vaccine Track uses those claims as a way to measure vaccinations.

IQVIA sources claims data from vaccinations occurring in physicians’ medical offices and community pharmacies (including chain, mass merchandise, food stores and independent pharmacies). Vaccines administered in the workplace, community clinics (e.g., Federally Qualified Health Centers), institutional or hospital settings are not included in these data.

All claims are run through a patented encryption engine to create a de-identified patient token, which protects patient privacy. The end result is Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant, anonymized patient-level data.

To increase data coverage and accuracy, IQVIA periodically implements methodology changes, database enhancements, supplier updates and enhancements and minor data corrections. Due to these changes, previously reported volume can change.

Medical claims are projected nationally to the American Medical Association (AMA) universe of office-based physicians. Due to potential sampling bias, all sub-national medical claims are reported directly without using projections.

Pharmacy claims are collected from sample pharmacies and projected nationally and sub-nationally to IQVIA’s syndicated universe of retail pharmacy prescriptions. Non-sample pharmacy volume is accounted for in the syndicated universe by applying several statistical analyses based on volume from sample pharmacies.

Occasionally, manufacturers may block some products’ data from being shared with third parties. These products are not accounted for in Vaccine Track.

Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are used by the US Census Bureau and other federal agencies to define and analyze urban regions, so we are following that same approach. MSAs are based on the concept of a core area with a substantial population nucleus, surrounded by adjacent communities that are economically and socially integrated with that core.

Vaccine Track also includes data for the parts of each state that fall outside of established MSAs, which are labeled as non-MSA data in the tool. Non-MSAs include rural regions as well as towns and cities with populations below 50,000 that are not part of a larger metro area.

• Cash: Claims where the patient pays out-of-pocket without the involvement of insurance coverage.
• Medicaid: Claims submitted through Medicaid, further segmented into:
  • Medicaid Fee-for-Service (FFS): Claims reimbursed directly by the state under traditional Medicaid models.
  • Medicaid Managed Care: Claims through Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) operating under state contracts.
• Commercial: Claims submitted to employer-sponsored or individual private insurance plans, including those purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
• Medicare: Claims submitted through Medicare, further segmented into:
  • Medicare Part B: Covers influenza, pneumococcal and hepatitis B vaccines.
  • Medicare Part D: Covers all CDC-recommended vaccines.

Medicaid Fee-for-Service (FFS) data does not include immunization data for Medicaid FFS beneficiaries that received immunizations at public health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) or through some state vaccine purchasing programs.

A medical claim occurs when a vaccine is administered in a physician’s office or clinic and billed through the patient’s medical insurance. A pharmacy claim occurs when a claim is administered at a community pharmacy and billed through the patient’s pharmacy benefits. Cash claims are currently only captured at pharmacies.

No. True immunization coverage rates cannot be calculated with claims data due to lack of longitudinal follow-up. Future iterations of Vaccine Track could project an estimated immunization coverage rate.

To get a comprehensive view of adult vaccination trends, Vaccine Track currently includes claims for adults ≥19 years of age who were vaccinated for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus-diphtheria (Td), tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap), shingles, pneumococcal, influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Due to the wealth and precision of COVID-19 vaccination tracking, COVID-19 vaccination claims are currently excluded from Vaccine Track. Although flu vaccination claims are included in the interactive data tools, they are typically not included in our insights due to their strong seasonality and the robust analyses of flu vaccination trends provided by the CDC.

For transparency and completeness, Vaccine Track includes vaccinations among all adults ages ≥19 and does not exclude vaccinations that fall outside CDC recommendations. Site users are empowered to segment the data based on different age bands to explore vaccination behaviors across different age groups. Still, it’s important to recognize that not all vaccines are indicated or recommended for all adults, and we do not promote or endorse the use of any vaccine beyond its FDA-approved indication(s) or CDC recommendations. Patients should consult with their healthcare provider about what vaccines they may need.

Adult immunization rates in the US have consistently lagged behind childhood immunization rates falling short of national targets. Detailed and up-to-date reporting of adult immunization claims could uncover trends that might inform vaccine policy and initiatives that could help to close adult immunization gaps.

Additionally, there are limitations with both the availability and variability of data on childhood vaccinations provided through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and public clinics which makes the data more fragmented and more complex to distill into the kind of comprehensive data sets that Vaccine Track provides. Future iterations of Vaccine Track could include these additional data sets.

No. Vaccine Track captures only the total number of doses without accounting for multi-dose vaccines.

At this time, Vaccine Track data are not available for download.

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