July 23, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – When Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene refused to answer a journalist’s question on Tuesday about whether she had been vaccinated against COVID-19, the incident triggered a storm of questions about whether and when it is legal to ask others to reveal personal medical information. Is it legal for businesses to ask vendors about their vaccination status?
Greene said the question from the journalist was a “violation of my HIPAA rights” – referring to the 1995 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act implemented to protect individuals’ personal health information while allowing it to flow when necessary.
“You see with HIPAA rights we don’t have to reveal our medical records and that also includes our vaccine records,” said Greene.
However, HIPAA applies only to healthcare-related businesses (including insurance and medical providers) and not to journalists asking questions, though Greene was well within her rights to refuse to answer the question.
‘Fact checkers’
The response triggered a media firestorm from Twitter, Snopes, USA Today, and CNN, all pointing out Greene’s legal error. Twitter did not just refute the HIPAA statement but made its own claim that “Businesses can ask customers if they are vaccinated against COVID-19 without
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