Each year, vaccination prevents tens of thousands of deaths in the United States and millions of deaths globally. CHR researchers have decades of experience conducting research on vaccine safety and effectiveness.
In recent years, CHR has been at the forefront of research on the COVID-19 vaccine, including contributing data to the Pfizer vaccine clinical trials and to monitoring COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness. In addition, CHR researchers are studying numerous other vaccines, including the newly approved respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for pregnant people and older adults.
Many of our vaccine safety studies are conducted through the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a collaborative project between thirteen healthcare organizations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The VSD uses electronic health records data to monitor the safety of vaccines, checking for potential rare adverse events—which can be missed by clinical trials—and monitoring vaccine safety among specific populations, such as pregnant individuals. Distinguished Investigator Allison Naleway, PhD., is the Principal Investigator for the VSD at CHR.
CHR’s Clinical Research and Trials Unit also conducts many research trials examining vaccine safety and effectiveness in the CHR Research Clinic. This includes the original Phase III trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine (see Featured Study below), as well as COVID-19 booster vaccine trials and clinical trials for vaccines to prevent RSV, pneumococcal disease, Clostridioides difficile infection, influenza, and others.
CHR researchers also study vaccine uptake—the number of people who receive a vaccine—and vaccine coverage—the proportion of an eligible population that has received a vaccine—as well as the epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases; attitudes and beliefs about vaccination; and research methods for monitoring vaccine safety. We have also implemented programs within the Kaiser Permanente Northwest health care system designed to increase vaccination rates and improve the vaccination experience.