Dear John,
I want to talk to you about a misleading media article concerning H.R. 550, the Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act, and the claims that it creates a federal vaccination database.
First, I am 100% against any type of vaccine database that would personally identify someone and their status. H.R. 550 does not give the federal government any access to your individual health or vaccine records, nor does it create a federal vaccination database. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will not have your vaccination records. This bill modernizes and strengthens protections within the Immunization Information Systems (IIS), which has existed in States and territories for decades, to ensure your information is kept private and secure. The IIS uses population based, de-identified data, which means there is no personally identifying information. It shows the number of people who have been immunized, allowing States to determine what communities may need additional vaccines. Strengthening the security of this system is extremely important to ensure this data is not compromised.
Second, it is very troubling that a national media online outlet would print such misleading and false information.
Here are the facts:
🚫False claim: This will create a Federal database of vaccines for the federal government to track me.
➡ Truth: No, this bill will not create a Federal database. Immunization Information Systems (IIS) already exist in the States and use population based, deidentified data, meaning no personally identifiable information. This bill ensures these existing systems are modernized and the information included in them is secured and kept private. Each State system has their own standards, and all are confidential so this would be an extra layer of protection to ensure they remain so and that any new state IIS are that way as well. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) DOES NOT and WILL NOT have your vaccination records.
🚫False claim: This will make it easier for the government to track me.
➡ Truth: No, this bill simply modernizes existing, state-based systems that use population-based, de-identified information, meaning your personal information and vaccination status will not be accessible by the government. They are not personal tracking systems and cannot be used for that purpose.
🚫False claim: This bill will be used to enforce the Biden administration’s Orwellian vaccine mandates.
➡ Truth: No, since your personally identifiable information is not accessible the Biden administration will not be able to use them for their unconstitutional vaccine mandates. They are not personal tracking systems and have nothing to do with vaccine mandates. These state-run systems have existed for decades and this bill is aimed to beef up the security of them and establish guardrails.
🚫False claim: This is a dangerous overreach by the Federal government that hurts States’ rights and will lead to an abuse of civil liberties.
➡ Truth: These systems have existed for a while and are run by the States, not the Federal government. In fact, this bill will help protect against abuse from the Biden administration. In the ARP, they sent millions of dollars to “improve IIS.” There was little to no descriptive language or guardrails on what that meant. Therefore, this bill would lay out in detail what is meant by improving IIS, while protecting States’ rights and personal information and help ensure that money that was already appropriated is NOT going to anything outside of actually modernizing existing IIS, such as vaccine mandates.
My hope is to clear up the false claims out there. if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact my office at https://bacon.house.gov/contact/.
