Asking Someone If They're Vaccinated Is Not A HIPAA Violation, But These Tweets Are *Chef's Kiss*
BuzzFeed
3 min read
Recently, people have been declining to answer questions about their vaccination status, citing HIPAA to back up that stance. Most notably, Representative and conspiracy promoter Marjorie Taylor Greene has invoked HIPAA, and today, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott made similar comments.
Spoiler: that's not how HIPAA works. That's not how ~any~ of this works.
HIPAA, which stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, prohibits healthcare providers, health insurance companies, and some related businesses from disclosing your medical information without your consent.
Someone asking you a question about your health or vaccination status might feel uncomfortable, but it's not a HIPAA violation. However, if that same person turned around and called your doctor for your medical records *and* your doctor actually provided them, that would be an enormous HIPAA violation.
Additionally, employers and businesses are well within their rights to ask if you've been vaccinated. And employers can legally require that workers get the vaccine, with some medical and religious exceptions.
Employers also have the right to ask if you're experiencing COVID-like symptoms if you call in sick so they can take appropriate measures to protect the rest of your team.