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Sarah and Mitchell Stewart are two of many Canadian parents who are easily and securely tracking their family’s immunizations using Dr. Kumanan Wilson’s homegrown smartphone app that has evolved into ImmunizeCA.

Make your smartphone smarter.

Do what mother Sarah Stewart did recently and download the free ImmunizeCA app to keep track of your family’s shots and get credible, vaccine-related information that is always up to date.

“I thought it would be a really good way of basically making my life a little easier,” said Stewart, mother of Sadie, 20 months, and Lillian, two months.

She remembers what it was like without it.

“I’d just given birth to my first daughter. There was so much information given about immunizations from the hospital — all this paperwork. And then through the public nurse, they give you even more information,” she said.

“When this app came up, I thought, ‘Brilliant! A one-stop shop!'”

Stewart was enthusiastic because the app told her what shots were needed when, provided information about those shots and the diseases they protect against, and actually reminded her about scheduled doctor’s appointments.

Before ImmunizeCA, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute launched ImmunizeON in 2012, an Ontario-only version of the app. Its creation was sparked by a conversation that Dr. Kumanan Wilson, a senior scientist at the hospital, had with a mother in an Ottawa park. You can easily bank online, she remarked, so why can’t you track your shots too? Dr. Wilson realized that a 21st-century complement to the yellow paper-based records, which serve as official vaccine records in Ontario, was needed.

In spring 2014, a partnership improved and expanded the app nationwide and re-launched it as ImmunizeCA. The partnership includes the Canadian Public Health Association, Immunize Canada and the hospital, with funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

This fall, updates to the app offer improved outbreak information right on the home page. ImmunizeCA now incorporates digital detection software that mines data from the Internet hourly to monitor emerging vaccine-preventable diseases in your area. Also improved is your ability to select and customize your city, in addition to your province of residence. This means you could receive important news from your local public health authority, such as Ottawa Public Health.

As the flu season starts, find out more and get your free app for Android, iPhone or BlackBerry at the Immunize Canada website.

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