COVID-19 Vaccine Education Corner-MCIR

Good Afternoon Immunization Partners,

One of the many benefits of the Michigan Care Improvement Registry, (MCIR), is the consolidation of immunization information from multiple providers into one comprehensive record. This consolidation strives to eliminate duplicate records and allowing providers to view up-to-date patient immunization records and assess from one system. In order for these benefits to occur, we must ensure that MCIR is utilized for accurate data reporting. This is not always easy during a busy COVID-19 clinic, and we are receiving several reports of duplicate records being created for patients, which could lead to inaccurate assessment of vaccination needs. We want to ensure appropriate assessment of records to insure accurate and complete documentation as well as reduce potential vaccine administration errors. Therefore, we wanted to provide resources and guidance regarding the two questions below:

Question: Should I look my patient up in the MCIR before I administer a dose of COVID-19 vaccine?

YES! The most important step you can take prior to vaccine administration is to search for a patient or person in the MCIR to verify their immunization status. This will ensure that you have the correct MCIR Immunization record and can verify if the patient has received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. It also provides the opportunity to verify age as we are beginning to vaccinate those 12 years and older with the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This critical and essential step will help minimize and or eliminate duplicate records. Two of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are a two-dose series; this further emphasizes the importance of verifying a person’s immunization record to ensure proper intervals are met and that the same product is used.

Resources:

Infographic—Did your patient receive a COVID-19 vaccine?

How to Document a Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine in the MCIR

COVID-19 MCIR Documentation & Inventory Guidance

COVID-19 Immunizing Providers MCIR

How To Search for a Person in the MCIR - YouTube

 

Bonus Question: What if they lose, can’t find, or never received their COVID-19 vaccination record card?

Remind your patient of these key things:

• Patients may contact the facility where they were vaccinated and request either a completed COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or a print out of their current immunization record from the MCIR.
• Patients can also visit https://www.mcir.org/public/, to request an official immunization record, which will display proof they have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Both the record card and immunization record are official vaccination records.

 

If you have any questions regarding COVID-19 vaccination, you may always reach out to us at CHECCimms@michigan.gov.

 

Thank you for all your hard work to protect Michiganders from vaccine-preventable diseases!

 

-The Immunization Nurse Education Team, Andrea, Heidi, Maria, and Terri