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One of those lawsuits against MDHHS that you won't see in the news, but should know about anyway.
One lawsuit begs the question: if the many activists following the vaccine issue found the department acting beyond law in this area, how much more noncompliance is hiding out in the remaining 99% of state health policy?
ICAN’s attorneys demanded answers from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services concerning the state’s local health departments’ processing of nonmedical vaccine exemptions for school-aged children, which they are using to illegally track private and confidential information in the state’s vaccine tracking system.On May 18, 2023, ICAN attorneys provided the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) with a detailed summary of why its processes regarding nonmedical exemptions exceed its authority and, consequently, violate the law.
ICAN’s attorneys point out that, in clear violation of privacy laws, MDHHS is permitting local health departments to store confidential information in the state’s vaccine registry. In addition, local health departments are permitted to create electronic health records for families who claim a nonmedical vaccine exemption, thereby capturing and storing private information that they are not entitled to collect.
To add insult to injury, the local health departments don’t disclose to parents that they are creating these records or inputting them into the state’s tracking system. Worse yet, if parents do figure it out, the local health departments are unlawfully refusing to let parents access their own family’s information.
The letter ultimately demands that MDHHS immediately take action to correct these issues.
On June 2, 2023, an attorney for MDHHS responded with the unsupported claim that its process was consistent with applicable law, stating that it did not “plan to immediately revise departmental practices” but it did agree to inquire with the local health departments to “assess consistency statewide.”
ICAN’s attorneys will continue monitoring this issue and proceed as necessary to hold MDHHS accountable. In the meantime, you can read the demand letter in full here.
Another group is challenging MDHHS, Michigan for Vaccine Choice, apparently in concert with ICAN:
https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/michigan-organization-seeks-changes-to-mdhhs-vaccine-policies
Michigan organization seeks changes to MDHHS vaccine policies
By Marc Schollett - June 13th 2023MICHIGAN (WPBN/WGTU) -- The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is no stranger to legal challenges, especially in recent years, when it comes to vaccines.
But there is a new challenge they're facing when it comes to parents, kids, and their right to opt out.
"Seven laws. That's unacceptable. I don't know anybody that would think that that's okay. Parents, legislators, business owners, taxpayers should be outraged," said Connie Johnson, the media director for Michigan for Vaccine Choice.
"It's no different than any other medical intervention. You should have bodily autonomy when making these important medical decisions for yourself and for your children," Johnson said.
But she and others claim MDHHS isn't respecting that autonomy, or privacy, or even the rules that MDHHS put in place when it comes to parents obtaining nonmedical vaccine exemptions.
"They're choosing to violate their own promulgated rules, state law and federal law and the acquisition of personal health information that they don't have a legal right to collect. And they're doing it deceptively," Johnson said.
Michigan for Vaccine Choice points to a 50-page document that Informed Consent Action Network [ICAN] recently sent to MDHHS.
It outlines their claims that the state put in place a system for parents to opt out of vaccines that violates privacy and locks parent's access to their child's information.
"First of all, they don't have legal access to that data. Secondly, they're collecting it in a way that's coercive and not giving the opportunity for people like myself, I have school-aged children, to opt out of how they're collecting it." Johnson said.
They sent their legal demand to MDHHS and got this one-page response.
In it, MDHHS said they will ensure local health departments statewide are uniform in their actions, but deny the claims that their policies and procedures violate confidentiality.
Leaving Connie, and others left to find a different approach for solving what they say is an unacceptable situation.
"They need to come into compliance with their own laws, or they need to change the laws to come into compliance with what their wishes are," Johnson said.
Michigan for Vaccine Choice said they are not anti-vaccine, but rather anti-mandates.
Previously they fought against vaccine mandates in the workplace.
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