A MESSAGE FROM THE STATE REGISTRAR

Greetings from the State Office of Vital Records,

As we look ahead to the new year and everything 2022 may bring, it is also important to make sure we complete all our duties from the previous year. Over the next few months, important work must still be done to ensure that every vital record from 2021 has been completed. That means ensuring a birth record has been registered for every child born in Georgia, that a complete and accurate death certificate is available for everyone died in Georgia, and all fetal deaths, marriages, divorces, and induced terminations of pregnancy have been accounted for. In the coming weeks and months our staff at the State Office of Vital Records may contact you to request updates, verify information, and confirm the data received for 2021 are complete and accurate. Please assist them in this work by answering any questions they may have, and by reviewing and completing any unresolved records in your possession. This will help ensure we have complete and accurate data for local, state, and national statistics, and that our constituents will have access to their vital records in the future, whenever they may need them.

In 2022, we look forward to continuing our work to improve GAVERS and our operations. We have identified contractors who will help us to train more physicians to certify death records electronically. Work is underway to develop several new GAVERS features to improve the system, and we look forward to bringing those to you later this year.

Thank you for all you do to support Vital Records and the people of Georgia!

Chris Harrison
State Registrar & Deputy Director
State Office of Vital Records
Georgia Department of Public Health