Help Protect Medical Privacy In New Jersey!

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New Jersey legislators have introduced two bad companion bills that would require any person not currently enrolled in the vaccine tracking system/registry (NJIIS) to be automatically enrolled when such person is administered any vaccinations.

The state vaccine registry is currently an OPT-IN system for adults for all vaccines with the exception of COVID-19 vaccines due to an executive order issued by the governor requiring everyone who had a COVID-19 vaccine to be included in the registry.

A 4112 and S 3240 would change the entire registry to an OPT-OUT system where your consent would be assumed, and your records would be shared across systems and stored in different databases without your consent or knowledge.  The only exception would be if an individual or parent/guardian provides a written request not to participate in the registry.  

People and their children should not automatically have their personally identifiable information put into a database that is designed to track their vaccination status.  Informed written consent with full disclosure should be required before any information is uploaded into this system.  

Help us say NO to the expansion of tracking of individuals’ private and personal vaccination information today!

TAKE ACTION

1. S3240 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on Thursday, 12/15/2022 at 01:00 PM in Committee Room 4, First Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. Click HERE to view the hearing agenda. 

• Contact your two Assembly Members and New Jersey State Senator and urge them to oppose A. 4112 and S. 3240.

You can look up who represents you here:

By municipality: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp

Interactive map: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/njmap210.html

Calls are more effective than emails and only take a few minutes.  Below is a sample script.  Use your own words when you call or email – a personal message is always more effective than a form message!

Sample script:

“Hi, my name is ____ and I am a constituent.  I am calling to ask Assembly Member ____ to OPPOSE A. 4112, which would expand vaccine tracking.  This unnecessary bill claims to make enhancements to the New Jersey vaccine tracking registry by making it mandatory for providers to upload people’s private information regarding all vaccines. But what it really does is create significant privacy issues.

I am opposed to people and their children having their personally identifiable information put into a database that is designed to track their vaccination status.  Any state vaccine information system should be strictly an opt-in system.  Informed written consent with full disclosure should be required before any information is uploaded into this system.  

Consent should always be obtained and never assumed. 

We must protect the medical privacy of people in New Jersey. 

I urge Assembly Member _____ to oppose A. 4112, which would expand vaccine tracking.”

Talking Points:

Keep your call or email short!  Pick the 2 or 3 talking points most important to you and explain why this issue matters to you personally.

1. The NJIIS database should be an opt-in system, not an opt-out system.  All personal medical information should only be stored and shared with the express written permission of the patient or parent/guardian.

• No one should have their private information put into a database without prior written consent.  

• Vaccine tracking systems should always be OPT-IN only.  OPT-IN means that your vaccine information will not be shared if you do nothing.  If you have not given consent, your vaccine status remains private between you and your healthcare provider, and your vaccine status is not tracked by a state government or released to other healthcare databases. 

• Supporters of vaccine tracking systems claim they are a way to protect patients by guaranteeing patients don’t receive multiple doses of the same vaccinations from different providers.  According to CDC’s own statements, though, it’s clear that a key purpose of these registries is to create pressure on people who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.  CDC openly stated that vaccine registries are a tool to identify areas of “under vaccination” so they can be “addressed” and brought into “compliance.” https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6133a2.htm

• Using Immunization Information Systems in general costs states millions of dollars.  The money spent on expanding New Jersey’s vaccine tracking system should be spent on measures that better address public health.

Read the bills here:

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/S3240

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/A4112

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