Tracking those vaccines!

Did you know that it’s the World Health Organisation’s European Immunisation Week? I didn’t until my friend Trevor emailed me about it earlier – thanks Trev! A new iPhone app was launched by Irishhealth.com, in association with Aptimal to help parents track the numerous childhood vaccinations that are recommended.

This free app, called the Child Immunisation Tracker, is especially designed for parents in the Republic of Ireland. It includes data and vaccination schedules based on the current guidelines from the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.

It allows you to enter the details for multiple children, including contact details for their current GP. Then you can indicate which vaccinations the child has received. If you turn on Push Notifications, the app will notify you when the child’s next vaccination is due.

In the vaccinations section, you can browse the list of currently recommended vaccinations, and if you wish, you can access further information about each, including what it’s purpose is, which age group it is intended for, and what the benefits of the vaccination are. Given that one of my main concerns (and I would imagine the concerns of most parents) is learning what the potential side effects of a vaccine are, so that I can be on the lookout for adverse side effects in the hours or days following the vaccines, I think it is unfortunate that such information is not included in the app.

A final feature of the app is the ability to access news and alerts, streamed directly from Irishhealth.com. Currently, there are no alerts listed, but according to the app details on iTunes, Irishhealth.com will use this feature to let parents know of any disease outbreaks, such as measles or swine flu.