Validating Georgia's Vaccine Registry for the COVID-19 2023-2024 Season: True GRITS

Objectives. To determine the completeness of providers' COVID-19 vaccine reporting to the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services between October 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. Methods. We performed active, population, and laboratory surveillance in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, to identify all residents hospitalized with COVID-19. We selected a subset of patients by using age-stratified random sampling. We telephoned patients or their proxies, pharmacies, and primary care physicians to verify vaccination status and obtain date of unrecorded vaccination (if applicable) for cases without recorded vaccination on or after September 1, 2023. Results. In the 8-county metro Atlanta catchment area, 2165 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 during the study period, with 135 patients sampled for full chart reviews. Eighty-six patients required follow-up calls, resulting in 525 telephone calls and approximately 120 person-hours. From follow-up, we identified only 1 vaccine dose not in the registry. Conclusions. The registry is relatively reliable for obtaining information on COVID-19 vaccination status for patients in metropolitan Atlanta. Additional follow-up does not elucidate additional information. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(3):368-371. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308325).