Variation in Vaccination Data Available at School Entry Across the United States

To compile substate-level data on US school-age children's vaccination rates.

For states that did not have suitable data online, in 2015 we submitted information requests to the state health department and followed up with the state's Freedom of Information Act when necessary.

The accessibility, scale, and types of vaccination data varied considerably. Whereas 26 states provided data online, 14 released data only after a Freedom of Information Act request. School or school-district data were available for 24 states, 19 at the county level, 2 at the health department level, and 6 provided no substate-level data.

Effective vaccination policy requires a robust understanding of vaccination behavior. Some states make it difficult to access data or provide low-resolution data of limited value for identifying vaccination behavior.