Data-Driven Approach to Increasing US Vaccine Uptake

NFID and Public Health Partner Organizations Launch Pilot Project to Improve Vaccination Rates Using Data

BETHESDA, Md., April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) and technology company Fraym are partnering on a pilot project to deliver novel, hyperlocal insights to empower public health stakeholders working to increase vaccine uptake across the US. Working in collaboration with NFID partner organizations, the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the goal of the pilot project is to assist those on the frontlines in deploying effective approaches to public health outreach and service delivery.

For more than 50 years, NFID has educated and engaged the public, communities, and healthcare professionals about disease prevention and treatment, including the importance of staying up to date on all recommended vaccines. "NFID and our partners share a commitment to help protect individuals and communities from the potentially serious complications of vaccine-preventable diseases, and we also share concerns that immunization coverage rates continue to lag behind US public health goals," said NFID Executive Director and CEO Marla Dalton, PE, CAE. For example, influenza (flu) vaccination rates have hovered at about 50% for years, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation of annual flu vaccination for everyone age 6 months and older since 2010.

"Our goal is to map immunization attitudes, behaviors, and barriers to accelerate systemic progress by allowing changemakers to target messages and resources for specific groups in communities across the US," said Fraym CEO and Co-Founder Ben Leo.

Partner organizations will play a key role in the comprehensive and granular mapping of vaccine uptake drivers across the US to transform how public health stakeholders tailor vaccine messaging and service delivery efforts. "NFID is excited to expand our work with partners who are driving immunization coverage at state and local levels," said NFID President-Elect Jeffery A. Goad, PharmD, MPH. "With the leadership, experience, and input of partners, NFID aims to put data into the hands of local and state health departments and immunization advocates who can use it to help increase immunization rates." As part of the NFID commitment to building vaccine confidence and ensuring health equity, the NFID Board of Directors approved funding for this pilot project.

About the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
Founded in 1973, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating and engaging the public, communities, and healthcare professionals about infectious diseases across the lifespan. NFID has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and has earned a Platinum transparency seal from Candid/GuideStar. For more information, visit www.nfid.org.

About Fraym
Fraym is the preeminent global provider of geospatial data for understanding population dynamics. Governments and organizations around the world rely on Fraym data to make strategic and operational decisions while tackling challenges like inequity and insecurity, climate vulnerability, public health, and more. The company's advanced AI/ML models are the first to generate high-resolution insights about human characteristics, behaviors, and attitudes at the sub-neighborhood level and make them commercially available at scale. For more information, visit https://fraym.io/.

About the Association of Immunization Managers
The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is a non-profit membership association comprised of the directors of the 64 federally funded state, territorial, and local public health immunization programs. AIM is dedicated to working with its partners nationwide to reduce, eliminate, or eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases. AIM also works to ensure the success of its members by providing support in their programming interests. Since 1999, AIM has enabled collaboration among immunization program managers to effectively control vaccine-preventable diseases and improve immunization coverage across the US and affiliated territories. For more information, visit www.immunizationmanagers.org.

About the National Association of County and City Health Officials
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents over 3,300 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information, visit www.naccho.org.

Contact: Diana Olson, [email protected]

SOURCE National Foundation for Infectious Diseases