Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The immunization registry must contain
information on the immunization history obtained by the department under this
chapter regarding:
(1) each individual for
whom consent has been obtained;
(2)
individuals immunized to prepare for or in response to an event under §
100.7
of this title (relating to Potential and Declared Disasters, Public Health
Emergency, Terrorist Attack, Hostile Military or Paramilitary Action, and
Extraordinary Law Enforcement Emergency Event); and
(3) first responders or their immediate
family members for whom a request has been submitted, as described at §
100.8
of this title (relating to First Responder Immunization Information).
(b) The department may obtain the
data constituting an immunization record for an individual from a public health
district, a local health department, the individual or the individual's legally
authorized representative, a physician, a payor, or from any health care
provider licensed (or otherwise legally authorized) to administer vaccines.
Submission of this information must be according to the procedures and in the
format prescribed by the department.
(c) Except as provided by §
100.7
and §
100.8
of this title, the department shall verify consent before including information
received under subsection (b) of this section in the immunization registry. The
department may not retain identifiable information about an individual for whom
consent cannot be verified.
(d)
When the department verifies consent under subsection (c) of this section, it
may do so by any of the following, at its discretion:
(1) manual or electronic review of the
consent form document signed (including by electronic signature) by a legally
authorized representative at birth certificate registration;
(2) manual or electronic review of a consent
form signed by a legally authorized representative and submitted to the
department by mail to the Department of State Health Services, Immunization
Unit, MC-1946, P.O. Box 149347, Austin, Texas 78714-9347, or by courier to
Department of State Health Services, Immunization Unit, 1100 West 49th Street,
MC-1946, Austin, Texas 78756 (consent forms may also be received by
facsimile);
(3) affirmation by a
health care provider, birth registrar, regional health information exchange, or
local immunization registry that consent has been obtained, as described in
Texas Health and Safety Code, §
161.007(a)(5),
and in a manner prescribed by the department.
(e) Except as limited by subsections (f) and
(g) of this section, the department may release the data constituting an
immunization record:
(1) to the individual or
the individual's legally authorized representative; and
(2) to the following entities, with those
entities subject to the stated limitations:
(A) a Texas public health district or a Texas
local health department, for public health purposes within their areas of
jurisdiction;
(B) a physician or
any health care provider licensed (or otherwise legally authorized) to
administer vaccines in Texas, for treating the individual as a
patient;
(C) a Texas school or
Texas child care facility, for an individual enrolled in that school or child
care facility;
(D) a payor
currently authorized by the Texas Department of Insurance to operate in Texas,
for immunization records related to the specific person in Texas covered under
the payor's policy;
(E) a state
agency having legal custody of an individual; and
(F) an employer of a first responder, with
the prior written or electronic consent of the first responder, for
verification of the first responder's immunization history.
(3) Direct electronic access to
the immunization registry information shall be limited to entities described in
paragraph (2) of this subsection, for use under the stated limitations and
subject to registration and access requirements as provided by the
department.
(f) For
individuals immunized to prepare for, or in response to, an event covered by
§
100.7
of this title, the department may release information from the immunization
registry as provided in §
100.7(f)
of this title.
(g) For first
responders or their immediate family members 18 years of age or older, the
department may release information from the immunization registry as provided
in §
100.8(e)
of this title.
(h) Texas Health and
Safety Code, §
161.0105,
provides limited liability protections, as described in those
provisions.
(i) The department may
release nonidentifying summary statistics related to the immunization registry
that do not individually identify an individual.
