HIPAA-critical Vaccine Exemptions
/By Mia Maysack, PNN Columnist
A friend recently invited me to a concert that demanded proof of full vaccination against covid or at least a medical exemption from getting one.
I want to make it clear that I'm not an "anti-vaxxer." But I personally do not feel that I can tell another person what to do with their own body. I exist as a chronically ill person due to circumstances that were entirely out of my control as a child. Through the years, managing these ailments has been daunting, and mainstream treatment options inflicted even more complications that I still live with to this day.
For credibility’s sake, you should know that I received an average of 30 injections every three months for about 15 years as a method for pain control. The last time I went in, my world was flipped upside down by such a bad reaction to the shots that I haven't returned for that treatment or any other mainstream approaches to medicine.
Although I'm aware it could've been an allergic reaction (they've been producing cheap medication overseas), I have no reason to expect such a thing won’t occur again. The words “rare” and “unlikely” don’t mean much when bacterial meningitis threatened my young life through an untreated ear infection. That wasn’t a foreseeable circumstance either. So the fact remains: no one can be sure what they are getting. Due to how difficult it has been to survive in this body up to now, I'm not content on taking any more unnecessary risks.
I requested and was denied a vaccine exemption, the desire for which did not stem from any place of entitlement, but because I cannot gamble with my quality of life. The fact that I'm expected to is an illustration of the deeply rooted problems within our healthcare system and proves that, despite what they claim, it is not operating from a place of patient-centeredness.
I don't find contentment with the reassurance that few adverse reactions have been reported from covid vaccines, because I personally know people who have experienced them and there simply hasn't been enough time passed for anyone to even begin to know what things could happen down the line.
I was told that an exemption isn’t something my clinic can do, not even for religious reasons, because they consider it a “personal choice.” The only way to have it granted is to literally attempt an injection and experience adverse effects. But that’s something I’ve already – and barely -- lived through.
Suffice to say, this is not a one-size-fits-all situation. They encourage everyone to get vaccinated, but why does that encouragement feel more like I’m being forced? I know what's best for my body and if/when I do take the jab, it’ll be on my terms and not because I was bullied into it.
The job of medical professionals is to honor and be a partner in care. I know this because I was once one of them, but had to step off my beloved hospital floor for good after a setback in my health. Back then, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), we could’ve lost our jobs for peeking into our own medical charts. Yet now we’re suddenly expected to carry personal health information on us at all times and surrender it to everyone who demands it. How is that not a HIPAA violation?
Regardless of your stance on the science, it’s undeniable that this conduct is questionable at best. Why are we continuing to allow it? The intention here is not to shame anyone for their choices, but to draw attention to our freedom of choice essentially being eliminated.
There are many different forms of “justice” but our systems have been designed in ways that evade them, along with any responsibility for their lack of equity. It’s undoubtedly a hindrance, not only for patients, but our constitutional rights. If this is how our institutions are operating, we should be holding them to public accountability.
Mia Maysack lives with chronic migraine, cluster headache and fibromyalgia. Mia is the founder of Keepin’ Our Heads Up, a Facebook advocacy and support group, and Peace & Love, a wellness and life coaching practice for the chronically ill.
