AB1797 Expert Witness’ Testimony
Palmdale Freedom Coalition member, Mario Presents, speaks to the California State Finance Committee in Sacramento as an expert witness against AB1797, the Covid vaccinated persons registry bill.
“My name is Mario Presents, and I’m speaking as a member of the Palmdale Freedom Coalition and as a gay, hispanic man. Citing municipal authority, the City of Palmdale has crafted an ordinance to protect our citizen’s medical privacy with regard to Covid-19 and other similar health information sharing. We understand that medical privacy is not the business of the city, state, a merchant, or a school. California wants to create an immunization registry under the guise of public health, but how much will this cost?
It is not healthy for the community to expose our children to pedophiles by NOT updating the Megan’s Law registry? Keeping track of perverts is literally free but the state has stopped doing it. Would it be acceptable for my medical provider to share my HIV status with CalWorks, the Foster Care System, Schools, or WIC? It is not fiscally sound, or healthy, to create a registry of people’s COVID-19 vaccination status.
The California Constitution requires reimbursement of schools and agencies for costs mandated by the state. The fiscal impact that mandates have on businesses and cities can be seen in the boarded up windows and outflow of students. Los Angeles Unified School District just lost 20,000 students but they didn’t lose them, they lost their MONEY. The state cannot afford this invasion of our medical privacy nor can our pocketbooks.
The STATE has no business in my, or anyone’s, medical records. Furthermore, including race and ethnicity as reported information is a gross invasion of privacy. Also included in the bill is keeping a current address, phone number, and in some cases, parent’s information as part of your registry.
Having worked in the healthcare field for many years, and at the precipice of HIPAA, I know that this registry is unnecessary. The cost of going digital in compliance with HIPAA requirements were astronomical and many doctors crumbled under the pressure and chose retirement, and in some cases, to leave the state. That’s lost revenue, but hey, we’ll make it up.
Permitting the sharing of personal medical data with food bank programs and state insurance has potentially disastrous consequences. Those receiving food assistance can’t be told what to eat, but the food bank can remind you to stay up to date on your vaccine? Or will they simply deny services to those who are overdue? The bill claims that maintaining updated information is necessary to locate and refer clients to healthcare providers for overdue inoculations, but my body, my choice right?
This bill is a gross violation of our medical privacy and should be aborted.”
