Immunizations: Immunization Data Dashboard

The number of vaccinations has changed in recent years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data on this page shows how the pandemic impacted how many vaccines were given in Wisconsin. These graphs don’t include influenza or COVID-19 vaccines. See the list below for the routine vaccines included in this data.

Vaccination impacted by the pandemic: Summarizing the data

Many families didn’t get the vaccines they needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who aren’t vaccinated are at much higher risk of getting sick from diseases prevented by vaccines. Not being up to date on vaccines also puts people at higher risk.

Here’s what the data shows:

Fewer people got routine vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the average number of people vaccinated in 2015–2019. The fewest number of people got vaccines during March and April of 2020.
Of all the age groups, children aged 5–6 years had the biggest decline in routine vaccines.

Let’s work together to help more Wisconsinites get protected by vaccines. To prevent future outbreaks, people need to get caught up on vaccines.

Vaccines and the diseases they prevent

Health care providers in the United States began giving vaccines on a regular basis decades ago. That greatly reduced the spread of those diseases prevented by vaccines. But the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases still exist. It is important to get these vaccines to protect yourself and others from these diseases:

DTaP, Tdap, and Td—Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)
HepA and HepB—Hepatitis A and hepatitis B
Hib—Haemophilus influenzae B
HPV—Human papillomavirus
IPV—Polio
MMR—Measles, mumps, and rubella
MenACWY and MenB—Meningococcal disease (caused by serotypes A, C, W, Y, B)
PCV13 and PPSV23—Pneumococcal
Rotavirus—Rotavirus (childhood diarrhea)
Varicella—Chicken pox

Learn more about these diseases and vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

See local and state immunization data

Data collection

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reports vaccinations that are given in recommended age groups. The reports are based only on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended immunization schedules.

The data only includes specific vaccines routinely given to these age groups:

0–24 months old: DTaP, Td, HepA, HepB, Hib, IPV, MMR, PCV13, Rotavirus, and Varicella.
5–6 years old: DTaP, HepA, HepB, IPV, MMR, and Varicella.
13–18 years old: Tdap, Td, HPV, IPV, MenACWY, MenB, MMR, and Varicella.
5–18 years old: DTaP, Tdap, Td, HepA, HepB, HPV, IPV, MenACWY, MenB, MMR, and Varicella.
19 and older: Td, Tdap, PCV13, PCV 15, PCV 20, and PPSV23.

Children receive multiple doses of certain vaccines. For some vaccines, the first dose doesn’t provide the most protection possible. So, more doses are needed to build high enough immunity to prevent these diseases. For other vaccines, immunity fades over time. A booster dose is needed to bring immunity levels back up. This makes the protection last longer. Getting every recommended dose of each vaccine provides your child with the best protection possible.

We don’t include the vaccine that protects against shingles in the comparisons below. Recent changes in its vaccine schedule increased the number of doses needed. Also, the vaccine isn’t widely available. This means we can’t easily or accurately compare the number of shingles vaccinations to other years.

Total number of vaccines given

This graph compares the number of vaccines* given in Wisconsin each month during 2020, 2021, and 2022 compared to pre-pandemic years (2015-2019). You can view the total number of vaccines given to a certain age group. Select the age group in the top left section of the dashboard.

In this graph, vaccines administered refers to the number of vaccines given to people.

By hovering over the 2015-2019 line, for example, you can see the average number of vaccines given in February 2015-2019. You can compare that number to how many vaccines were number given in the month of April in 2020, 2021, or 2022.

Percent change of vaccine doses given

This graph shows the percent change of vaccinations. It shows how much change there was in number of vaccines* given during the pandemic years compared to the five-year period before the pandemic. The pandemic years include 2020, 2021, and 2022. The comparison is given for the average number of vaccines given per month during 2015–2019.

A positive percent change shows that more people got the vaccine in recent years compared to the previous five years. The negative percent change shows that fewer people got vaccine in recent years. The bigger the percentage, the bigger the change.

For example, about 7% more children 13–18 years old got vaccines in September 2020 than in the average month of September during 2015–2019. For all other months, fewer people got vaccines during the pandemic than on average the previous five years. This decrease is true for all ages groups. The biggest change happened in April 2020, when 93% fewer children 5–6 years old got vaccines than before the pandemic.

*We count this data by vaccine, also called a vaccine group. For example, the MMR vaccine protects against three diseases, but is counted as one vaccine. However, one shot of Pentacel is counted as three vaccines given, since Pentacel includes three vaccine groups (DTaP, Hib and polio).