Self-Reported SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination is Consistent with Electronic Health Record Data among the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership

ABSTRACT Introduction Observational studies of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness depend on accurate ascertainment of vaccination receipt, date, and product type. Self-reported vaccine data may be more readily available to and less expensive for researchers than assessing medical records. Methods We surveyed adult participants in the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership who had an authenticated EHR (N=41,484) concerning receipt of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination using a daily survey beginning in December 2020 and a supplemental survey in September-October 2021. We compared self-reported information to that available in the EHR for the following data points: vaccine brand, date of first dose, and number of doses. Self-reported data was available immediately following vaccination (in the daily survey) and at a delayed interval (in the supplemental survey). Results For the date of first vaccine dose, self-reported “immediate” recall was within +/- 7 days of the date reported in the “delayed” survey for 87.9% of participants. Among the 19.6% of participants with evidence of vaccination in their EHR, 95% self-reported vaccination in one of the two surveys. Self-reported dates were within +/- 7 days of documented EHR vaccination for 97.6% of the “immediate” surveys and 92.0% of the “delayed” surveys. Self-reported vaccine product details matched those in the EHR for over 98% of participants for both “immediate” and “delayed” surveys. Conclusions Self-reported dates and product details for COVID-19 vaccination can be a good surrogate when medical records are unavailable in large observational studies. A secondary confirmation of dates for a subset of participants with EHR data will provide internal validity.