Electronic Health Records May Be Delaying COVID-19 Vaccinations

Workers at an urgent care facility in Woodbridge, Va., check health records while testing patients for COVID-19 on April 15, 2020.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Why has it been so hard to get a COVID-19 vaccination? One reason may be the software that almost all medical records in the U.S. are built on.

It makes up the systems nurses and doctors type patients’ vital signs and prescriptions into — whether they’re getting a routine physical or going to the emergency room with a broken arm.

And it’s the same type of program used to log patient data when COVID-19 shots are given. But those electronic health records often aren’t connected and don’t share information easily.