New School COVID-19 Vaccination Data Dashboard

ByJoshua Foust
A partner post from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

The Immunization Branch at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) introduced a new School COVID-19 Vaccination Data dashboard displaying COVID-19 vaccination rates for kindergarten through 12th grades at the school district and school levels. CDPHE and Colorado Department of Education (CDE) entered into an interagency data sharing agreement in January 2022 that permitted CDE to share student directory information for students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grades at Colorado public schools during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. This data sharing agreement maintains individual confidentiality by ensuring any publicly shared data remains aggregate so as to protect student personally identifiable information. 

CDPHE matched 2021-2022 CDE student directory information with patient immunization records within the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) using first name, last name, and date of birth. Approximately 96% of the 855,621 student records were successfully matched with an existing patient record in CIIS. 

COVID-19 is not a school-required vaccine in Colorado so schools are not required to collect COVID-19 vaccination information. COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates at the school district, school, and grade levels vary, and CDPHE created this dashboard to help parents/guardians/caregivers, educators, and school staff make informed decisions about other potential mitigation practices they may want to consider for their children and/or themselves, including continued indoor masking and physical distancing. This is especially important for parents of children with weakened immune systems and educators/school staff with immunocompromising conditions who have daily contact with students. 

CDPHE will update this dashboard on a weekly basis as more kids get vaccinated and doses are reported to CIIS. Once a COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for children younger than 5, CDPHE will also update the dashboard to include COVID-19 vaccination rates for pre-kindergarten-age kids. 

Children age 5 years and older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and vaccination remains the strongest layer of protection we can offer children against COVID-19. While it is rare for children to get very sick from COVID-19, some children will develop severe complications and getting vaccinated can help keep them safe. We encourage parents and guardians of children age 5 and older to make a plan to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible to help protect them and their communities. 

Additional information is available in the School COVID-19 Vaccination Data dashboard FAQ. If you have questions about this dashboard or need immunization resources, please email cdphe.dcdimmunization@state.co.us.