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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
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FACT BRIEF

Does HIPAA protect people from having to reveal their COVID vaccination status?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

There's a lot of confusion over your right to medical privacy: Many people believe — and have been asserting on social media — that no one can ask them whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

That's not true. HIPAA (not HIPPA; it is an acronym for a federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) does not protect you from being asked your vaccination status. "Covered entities," such as health care organizations, must protect your medical records.

HIPAA does not apply to businesses, organizations or employers.

Here's what HIPAA does let you do: see or receive a copy of your medical record, check your medical record for accuracy, ask to change or add information to your file and find out who has seen your medical information.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Department of Health and Human Services The HIPAA Privacy Rule
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Are You a Covered Entity?
Compliancy Group HIPAA Vaccination Law
Compliancy Group Are Vaccine Passports a HIPAA Violation?
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.