The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Wednesday that it opened an investigation into a Midwestern public school after it ignored a student’s religious exemption and vaccinated the child without parental consent.
The investigation seeks to ensure parental rights in their children’s medical decisions, the department said.
“If a provider ignores consent, violates an exemption, or keeps parents in the dark, HHS will act — quickly and decisively,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote on X. “We will use every tool we have to protect families and restore accountability.”
The investigation will determine if the school failed to comply with the Vaccines for Children Program requirement that states’ religious exemptions to compulsory vaccinations be respected.
The investigation will also examine how school district administrators currently process religious exemption requests when implementing the VFC program.
“Today, we are putting pediatric medical professionals on notice: you cannot sideline parents,” said Kennedy. “When providers ignore parental consent, violate exemptions to vaccine mandates, or keep parents in the dark about their children’s care, we will act decisively. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect families and restore accountability.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the department for more details about the investigation.
Along with the investigation, the department’s Office of Civil Rights issued a letter to health care providers reminding them that federal law requires them to provide parents access to their children’s health information. HHS will conduct a compliance review over whether health professionals comply with what Kennedy considers to be their “clear legal duty” of providing parents access to their children’s health information in a timely manner.
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“[The department’s Office for Civil Rights] has become aware that there may be instances in which the parents of minor children are not receiving access to their children’s medical records to the extent required by the HIPAA Privacy Rule,” the HHS letter reads. “Denial of access in those circumstances may be a violation of the Privacy Rule.”
In addition to the investigations, the agency will add a grant requirement stating that all funding recipients must comply with applicable federal and state parental-consent laws for any services or care provided to minors at HRSA-supported health centers as a condition of receiving Health Center Program funds.
