A Boone County High School parent’s concerns with a state immunization registry have uncovered a need for more awareness about how the registry is used and who can access it.
Melinda McGriffin told LINK nky she became concerned about the registry when she tried several times to sign her child up for school, which starts Aug. 15, via the district’s online registration system and couldn’t complete the process.
She initially thought registration had been denied because she refused to check a box on the online form allowing the district to share her child’s vaccinations with the Kentucky Immunization Registry or KYIR – a state database of adult and child immunization records overseen by the Kentucky Department of Public Health since 2015.
But according to the district, the box that parents check related to immunizations does not prevent parents from being able to register students.
Although she eventually got her child registered without granting the registry any access, McGriffin still has concerns about the database.
Those concerns revolve around who has access to child immunization information in Kentucky and how the state may track that data.
“I do not blanket condone giving any of my child’s health information,” McGriffin said, calling the registry “dangerous.”
“I understand and agree that immunizations benefit both the child and our community. I also remember that people (during the pandemic in some states, including California) could not go to public places without proof of receiving a vaccination. It is a slippery slope leading to constitutional rights being violated and new prejudices being developed.” she told LINK.
LINK looked into those concerns.
What is the Kentucky Immunization Registry?
The registry is a function of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. It gives the public free access to their own immunization records via an online portal. Individuals can only search for their own or their minor child’s immunization records on the site, according to the cabinet.
Schools and health providers can apply for access to the registry and may even be permitted to enter immunization data, both into under strict confidentiality rules and agreements.
The registry itself does not have unfettered access to patient health records, based on state regulation.
That’s because there is no state requirement for health providers to submit immunization records to the registry, according to regulation.
Registry use isn’t required, but school immunizations are
What is required are school immunizations, unless a parent or guardian provides a written sworn statement objecting on religious grounds or a child has a medical exemption.
Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR), varicella (chicken pox), hepatitis vaccines, and the polio vaccine are required through age five, with preschool age children also required to have the pneumococcal and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine.
Middle school kids are required to have the same vaccines as elementary school children plus a Tdap booster and Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) before entering middle school. High school students must get those middle school vaccines plus a new dose of MenACWY if the first dose was received before age 16.
Covid-19 vaccination, nor an annual flu shot, are required for school enrollment in Kentucky.
Unless exempt from vaccination “a child may be enrolled (in school) but their registration status will be incomplete until the immunizations are completed,” Boone County Schools community relations coordinator Barbara Brady told LINK in an email. “State law allows two weeks after the start of school to complete immunizations and to show proof that they’ve been done. Every student must then have an immunization certificate to enroll and attend school.”
Schools and health providers have to enroll in the registry and comply with privacy rules if they want to use it
Schools receive a child’s immunization certificate from the parent or may access the certificate through the state registry if the school is actively enrolled in the registry and those specific immunization records are in the system. But schools cannot do whatever they want with that information.
Every school staff member with registry access must sign a confidentiality form that spells out their responsibilities and risk of penalties under HIPAA– the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
The same is true of health providers: all providers, including general practice, urgent care, health departments, free clinics, pharmacies, hospitals and school health services must actively enroll in the registry and comply with the same HIPAA requirements as enrolled school staff, according to the state. There is no automatic enrollment.
McGriffin said she’s not opposed to the school having her child’s immunization record. But she reiterated to LINK her opposition to schools being able to provide student information to KYIR.
“I stand firm in my belief that the release authorization clause (to give the registry access via online registration) should not be on the form at all. It is an overreach of power that they were never granted and should never have,” she said.
Brady told LINK the registry is meant to simplify the transfer of immunization records, making registration easier for the parents — while clarifying that opt-out is allowed.
She reminded parents that any trouble they may be having getting their child registered for school online is a glitch in application process and not intentional.
“We do not deny registrations,” she told LINK. “Online registration is a new process this year for everyone so it does require patience. There are written and video instructions on our website. And every parent has received video instructions through their student’s Infinite Campus. Parents know they can contact the board of education if they need further assistance.”