Current law requires health care providers who administer vaccines to provide certain information on the right to refuse participation in the state's vaccine registry  to individuals or their parents, if they are minors, when administrating vaccines. Unless an individual refuses to have their information entered, the health care providers are then required to report the vaccines to the state's vaccine registry. Currently, vaccines given to individuals in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are exempt from these requirements. 

This bill would repeal this section of law that allows for this exemption:

 [(ii) Subparagraph (i) of this paragraph does not apply to a health care provider, or an agent of a health care provider, who administers a vaccine in a nursing facility, an assisted living program, a continuing care retirement community, or a medical day care program.]

The bill also changes the makeup and term for members of the Statewide Advisory Commission on Immunizations. NVIC does not take a position on this section of the bill. 

While it is a good thing to not exempt health care providers from providing information on an individual's right not to participate in a state registry, there is no guarantee that individuals will be notified, and the change to the bill requiring reporting all vaccines given to these individuals to the registry will result in people being entered into the registry that don't want to be. It is NVIC's position that participation in a registry should only happen with opt-in informed consent. This bill is expanding mandatory reporting on an opt-out system to include vaccines given to residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. This bill should be amended to require opt-in informed consent for all individuals prior to participation in the state registry.

Department of Health - ImmuNet and Statewide Advisory Commission on Immunizations

Department of Health - ImmuNet and Statewide Advisory Commission on Immunizations