Palmer on H.R. 550: Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Elizabeth Hance (202) 225-4921

Palmer on H.R. 550: Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act

Birmingham, AL – Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06) has released the following statement regarding his vote for H.R. 550, the Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021:

“Recent news stories have unfortunately wrapped H.R. 550 into the politics of COVID and vaccine mandates, when in fact this bill does not deal directly with either,” Palmer said. “This legislation was not written to track COVID vaccines, it does not create a federal vaccine database, and it does not release private health information. It does not create any new program, but deals solely with state and local public health data systems that have existed since the 1990s to track amassed statistics, outbreak responses, and full immunization programs such as schools’ full vaccine requirements. They do not track individual information. H.R. 550 seeks to address that many of these existing data systems are outdated and have fallen behind on their upkeep. The bill authorizes grants that would go towards helping states manage these antiquated databases.

“I sympathize with those who are concerned about too much government control over healthcare decisions,” Palmer concluded. “It’s unfortunate that COVID continues to be politicized to instill fear and to allow the government to infringe on our basic rights. I have consistently opposed COVID vaccine mandates and individual tracking of that information, and I will vote against any bill that authorizes these things. But H.R. 550 does not mention COVID or COVID vaccines, and it does not violate privacy protections. It simply provides authorization for funding that would assist in upkeep of already existing data systems.”

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