A popular tool called MyIR used to track Marylanders’ vaccination history suddenly went offline Thursday, making immunization records tougher to track and possibly more expensive for consumers to access.

Dr. Meena Seshamani, who became Maryland’s health secretary in April, said in an interview Thursday evening that the department is being forced to make “hard choices” to end the service since the Trump administration withdrew $222 million in funding tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We want to serve all Marylanders, and that includes having the funding to get people vaccinated and have the education surrounding vaccines,” she said.

“These federal funding cuts continue to force our hand in deciding what services to provide.”

State health officials had said in March that the federal government had cut COVID-related funding. Seshamani said millions in federal grants were rescinded for this year and 2026 and could have been used for a variety of public health services — from vaccination clinics at the local level to work at the state lab and educational campaigns.

MyIR cost about $293,000 a year to maintain. Seshamani declined to say what else has been or might be cut due to the funding cuts.

Visitors to the MyIR site Thursday found a confounding message: “The MyIR connection to Maryland immunization records is unavailable at this time (beginning May 1, 2025).”

Health information portals like MyIR, which stands for “my immunization records,” became popular during the coronavirus pandemic by people who needed to show they had gotten their COVID-19 shots. The portal consolidated records from doctors’ offices, drug stores and other vaccination sources.

It has been used by thousands of people in Maryland every month since its inception in 2018, including by parents who need to prove their children were properly vaccinated for camp or school. And now, amid a national measles outbreak, it might have been used by families looking to ensure they are on schedule for the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.

The site has 600,000 users in Maryland, according to a memo sent April 30 to local health departments from the state health department. The notice, a copy of which was obtained by The Baltimore Banner, alerted them that the consumer site would go offline the next day.

Seshamani did not explain why no advance public notice was given, but said decisions are being made on an ongoing basis. Users of the site were directed to get records from their health care provider or complete the Maryland ImmuNet Record Request Form.

The MyIR site notes that processing times for ImmuNet record requests may take up to 21 business days or longer, depending on request volume. The state has not typically charged consumers for access to immunization records, though doctors’ offices sometimes require a fee to fill out forms required by schools or camps that include vaccine histories.

The state health department held the contract with MyIR’s operator STCHealth, an Arizona-based software company that operates the site for about a half-dozen states. Access in those other states appears to be available.

A spokesman for STCHealth didn’t immediately offer a comment about the canceled contract, but said the number of users appeared accurate.

“We will be sending email notices to all registered users and are working with the vendor to update the MyIR website with appropriate information,” the state wrote in its message to local health departments on Wednesday.

“We recognize that the discontinuation of MyIR will cause an increased workload on staff who will now have to provide immunization documentation for the public,” including staff at doctor offices, local health departments and the state health department, the notice said.

Funding has been provided to states for years by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommended the states implement such a system by 2009. All states now have one.

In addition to cutting COVID-related funding to states, there have been a number of policy changes at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services related to vaccines, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. health secretary, has criticized vaccine safety and effectiveness.

That concerns Seshamani, who said that she wanted to preserve more front-line public health needs in exchange for ending the MyIR service. She added that immunization records will still be available through doctors’ offices and the states.

“We will continue to evaluate what we need to do to navigate these headwinds,” Seshami said. “The priority is to mitigate any damage and protect access to care for people in Maryland.”