Requires health dept. to conduct public info campaign to inform people COVID vaccine information entered in registry without consent can be removed

State: NH
Bill Number: HB 1608
Position: WATCH
Action Required: None at this time
Status: Enacted, Chapter 83, effective on 5/20/2022

Legislation Details:

UPDATE: 5/20/2022 - HB 1608 signed by the governor and enacted as Chapter 83 effective on 5/20/2022. The final version of the bill only requires the State Department of Health and Human Services to do a public information campaign letting people know they can withdraw from the state vaccine registry. 

UPDATE:  4/21/2022 - HB 1608 passed the Senate.

UPDATE: 4/14/2022 - HB 1608 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in a 5-0 vote

UPDATE:  4/8/2022 - HB 1608 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday, April 14th at 10:50 AM in the State House Reps Hall. Agenda - https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/schedule/eventDetails.aspx?event=7381&et=1

UPDATE: 3/31/2022 - HB 1608 referred to Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

UPDATE:  3/31/2022 - HB 1608 passed the House.

UPDATE: 3/24/2022 - HB 1608 passed House Finance Committee.

UPDATE: 2/17/2021 - HB 1608 Referred the House Finance Committee. 

UPDATE: 2/10/2022 - HB 1608 passed as amended in the House Health, Human Services, & Elderly Affairs Committee. HB 1608 was badly watered down by amendment removing sections requiring a person's information recorded without their consent about COVID-19 vaccinations to be removed from the registry . Now the State Department of Health and Human Services only has to do a public information campaign letting people know they can withdraw from the registry. The introduced bill correcting forced inclusion of COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic to make this information opt-in, but the amendment lets the registry keep everyone's information that was entered without consent and force people to have to opt-out if they don't want their information included.  NVIC Advocacy recommends telling your legislators to amend the bill to restore the bill as originally filed.

UPDATE:  2/4/2022 - HB 1608 is scheduled for executive session in the House Health, Human Services, & Elderly Affairs Committee on 2/8/2022 at 9:30 AM in Legislative Office Building Room 210-211. 

HB 1608 is scheduled for a hearing on 1/24/2022 in the House Health, Human Services, & Elderly Affairs Committee at 11:00 AM in Legislative Office Building 210-211. This bill is sponsored by Representative Prout, along with multiple cosponsors. 

HB 1608 requires the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to contact individuals who were not given an opportunity to opt-out of having their personal COVID-19 vaccine information included in the state's vaccine registry, pursuant to the governor's Emergency Order #76. This emergency order allowed individuals' COVID-19 vaccine information to be included in the registry without their consent.

HB 1608 requires DHHS use the following wording when contacting these individuals:

"Information on your COVID-19 vaccination was included in the New Hampshire Immunization/Vaccination Registry. Due to the COVID-19 state of emergency, you were not afforded the opportunity to opt-out of this information collection. However, you may now choose if you wish to continue having your information maintained in the registry. Please indicate your choice below and return this form. If you do not contact the department, your information will be removed on [the date calculated from the below]."

DHHS may try contacting individuals up to three times before their information is removed. If DHHS receives no response, then the information must be removed from the registry and any other agency records six months after this bill goes into effect. 

Prior written consent should always be required before entering an individual's information into a vaccine registry. Any information entered without permission ought to be purged from the registry, unless a person actively chooses to opt-in to having their information entered. While this bill is well-intentioned, it would be best if the vaccine registry was changed to be an entirely opt-in program, rather than an opt-out program, for all vaccines. 

http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_docket.aspx?lsr=2362&sy=2022&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2022&txtbillnumber=HB1608 - text, status, and history of HB 1608.