How to know if someone is vaccinated...

[Meglen]

Just remember the masks that vaccinated people wore protected the unvaccinated. The only people who should be worried right now are unvaccinated which are not worried about covid enough to be vaccinated so if they get sick it's on them. The one group I feel bad for are the medical issue folks who can't and the children who also can't.

Sure they can mask up but like it's said before masks protect others not yourself so they no longer have the choice of safety due to folks not getting the vaccine. I hope everything turns out ok and children younger than 12 get approval soon.

 

[Kitty 34]

I think we need to put our Vaccination status in our DIS signatures......of course I do have that feature turned off, but just saying.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Thanks - I was very curious how your health-care professionals are supposed to assess and treat you properly without being able to ask about your medical history. (We don't have HIPAA in Canada.)

They can ask you about your medical history, other people just can't ask them about your medical history. For example, if you tell you boss you were out because you had strep throat, your boss can't call your doctors office and ask "Did John really get treated for strep throat in your office this week?"

 

[ronandannette]

They can ask you about your medical history, other people just can't ask them about your medical history. For example, if you tell you boss you were out because you had strep throat, your boss can't call your doctors office and ask "Did John really get treated for strep throat in your office this week?"

Can an employer still require a doctor’s note or is sick leave strictly on the honour system?

 

[Pink Partridge]

Can an employer still require a doctor’s note or is sick leave strictly on the honour system?

My friend is a teacher and her school district requires a doctor's note after 2 days of being absent Can you imagine treating professionals like children?

 

[ronandannette]

My friend is a teacher and her school district requires a doctor's note after 2 days of being absent Can you imagine treating professionals like children?

What I can imagine (as a department manager) is people misusing their sick days and if you think that’s any better... Our standard is documentation for any absence 3 days or longer as well.

 

[AndreaA]

They can ask you about your medical history, other people just can't ask them about your medical history. For example, if you tell you boss you were out because you had strep throat, your boss can't call your doctors office and ask "Did John really get treated for strep throat in your office this week?"

This is where HIPAA comes into play with businesses asking vaccination status. Anyone can say they are vaccinated, they can even fake vaccination cards. Unless the business is willing to then check for proof, then asking is worthless. That verification would require the person to have signed a HIPAA waiver with the keeper of that vaccine info to allow that info to be given to that specific business. I suppose they could change the wording to “any business that requests it” but I seriously doubt that would fly.

 

[dvcgirl67]

All of my people are fully vaccinated now. Anyone who truly wants to be vaccinated will be able to do so in the coming month or so here in the States. We've got 12-15 year olds covered now. Hopefully smaller kids will be eligible by the fall. And so I just expect that those of us who are vaccinated will begin to move on from this whole ordeal. I won't put myself in a situation travel-wise where I might be stranded....like a cruise where fellow passengers might lie about being vaccinated thus risking that my vacation may be altered. Or international travel to places where I may end up needing to cancel or risk getting stranded. But other than that, I'm getting to the point where I'm going to care less about others are doing.

I've spent well over a year now being very cognizant of my fellow citizens in how I've behaved. In protecting myself, I've also protected them. However, at some point, those unwilling to be vaccinated are only putting themselves at risk. That's their choice. I don't think that the vaccinated are going to scream and throw hissy fits like the anti-maskers. We're just going to move on. People wanting to be outraged purely for the sake of being outraged...can continue to do their thing. Who cares.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

England has an NHS app which records and can be used as proof of vaccination. Wales is joining the app, but apparently because everything needs to be bilingual it will take a while.

 

[sam_gordon]

Can an employer still require a doctor’s note or is sick leave strictly on the honour system?

Yes, but the doctor's note does not have to say what they were treated for. "John Smith was seen in our office on 5/18/2021. He can return to work on 5/19/2021, but is under the following limitations: *can't stand for extended amounts of time, * can't lift something more than 25#." Just an example.

 

[tazdev3225]

So I have the tattoo ... so to speak. I have a smallpox vaccination scar. (One of the impressive ones, the kind you got from an injection gun!)

Seriously, though, ALL smallpox vaccinations, even the kind in the doctor's office, were done in such a way that they pretty much always left a scar; partly because as a "pox" disease, even the minor post-injection reaction always affects the skin. (This is not my arm; just an example photo.)

The thing is, the scar actually came to be appreciated in the days before the disease was defeated; as physicians knew instantly who had already been vaccinated; no records needed. It was mighty handy (and still is, in countries where smallpox is still a threat.

A brief history of the scars being used a proof of vaccination status in US public places: https://www.history.com/news/vaccine-passports-smallpox-scar

I had 4 smallpox vaccinations when I was entering school years ago. I had the original and then the school I attended forced my mom to have me get it 3 more times because I never had a scar after any of them even though she had proof I was vaccinated. It's one of the reasons I have a needle phobia because that was not a fun shot. After the 4th shot my doctor called the school and said he will never put me through that again. The best he could figure is somehow I had a natural immunity.

I went to Walmart yesterday and saw the sign no mask required if fully vaccinated. I am, but I wore my mask anyway. The chances of getting the virus are lower but you can still get it. My daughter's whole family just recovered from Covid because one of my grandsons got it in school. Thankfully the only one who had the worst effects was my daughter. She can't get vaccinated yet because of an autoimmune disease. She did have a good sense of humor about it though. She is a nurse and worked in the Medical ICU when Covid hit. She said they had lousy protection, had to reuse masks and were exposed constantly and she never caught it, her son gets it and brings it home. I will still wear a mask for those that can't get the vaccine.

 

[CaoilinnsMom]

We've got 12-15 year olds covered now.

Not exactly true-they were just able to get their first dose. They are not fully vaccinated until 2 weeks after the second.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

So I have the tattoo ... so to speak. I have a smallpox vaccination scar. (One of the impressive ones, the kind you got from an injection gun!)

Seriously, though, ALL smallpox vaccinations, even the kind in the doctor's office, were done in such a way that they pretty much always left a scar; partly because as a "pox" disease, even the minor post-injection reaction always affects the skin. (This is not my arm; just an example photo.)

The thing is, the scar actually came to be appreciated in the days before the disease was defeated; as physicians knew instantly who had already been vaccinated; no records needed. It was mighty handy (and still is, in countries where smallpox is still a threat.

A brief history of the scars being used a proof of vaccination status in US public places: https://www.history.com/news/vaccine-passports-smallpox-scar

I have a few childhood vaccination scars. Can never lie about my age!

 

[design_mom]

This is where HIPAA comes into play with businesses asking vaccination status. Anyone can say they are vaccinated, they can even fake vaccination cards. Unless the business is willing to then check for proof, then asking is worthless. That verification would require the person to have signed a HIPAA waiver with the keeper of that vaccine info to allow that info to be given to that specific business. I suppose they could change the wording to “any business that requests it” but I seriously doubt that would fly.

I don't necessarily think that asking is "worthless." I think honesty is a spectrum for most people. I think there are a lot of people for whom the "honor system" has little meaning (if nobody's checking, then...) but many of the same people would not actually go so far as forging vaccination documents. There are probably some who would, so asking for proof of vaccination would not be a fool-proof system, but it would probably cut down substantially on the abuse.

 

[dvcgirl67]

right…I meant that they’re eligible.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Actually, it's funny but also not a bad idea. I was out this weekend at an eatery that I have been to many times during the pandemic where masks were required while you order at the counter. I've been fine with doing that of course. They had a new sign up on the door this weekend - "No mask required for vaccinated people." It felt weird though and I felt like I needed to make sure that this was correct and that the employee taking my order knew that I was vaccinated. I made a little small talk about it and she seemed fine with everything. Still, it's like a little awkward.

A lot of places around me are dropping the mask requirements for vaccinated people based on the honor system and I guess I just don't trust people that much. I started shopping in-person after I was vaccinated but I've decided to stop and go back to curbside until we see how this goes.

 

[nkereina]

Can an employer still require a doctor’s note or is sick leave strictly on the honour system?

A lot of places here don't even have sick leave. Many offer a form of "Paid Time Off" which is all encompassing, so you can use it how you like and when you're out, you're out. This allows businesses to avoid having a policy where a person is required to provide a doctor's note. But, generally, doctor's notes will just confirm that the person was at the doctor on XX date and will confirm any limitations. It does not state what they were treated for.

 

[Dead2009]

I don't think that's how HIPAA works.

Your employer cant ask you if you've been vaccinated, its a violation.

 

[design_mom]

Your employer cant ask you if you've been vaccinated, its a violation.

That's simply not true. It has been stated over and over by multiple sources that employers are allowed to ask your vaccination status. In certain circumstances, they can also require employees to be vaccinated.

About asking vaccination status:
"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has indicated in recent guidance that it is generally permissible for employers to ask employees about COVID-19 vaccination status. That’s because this simple question alone is not likely to elicit information from the employee about possible medical conditions, an inquiry that otherwise would invoke federal or state disability laws."

"If you require proof of vaccination, you should ask the employee to provide documentation from the immunization source showing the date(s) the vaccine was administered. To avoid potential legal issues related to this process, you should affirmatively inform employees that they do not need to provide any additional medical or family history information. The documentation you receive should be treated as a confidential medical record."

https://www.fisherphillips.com/news... Commission,about COVID-19 vaccination status.

^^ This info is from a law firm specializing in labor issues... but there are also many other news stories about it (but it's hard these days to find any news source that half the population won't dismiss.)

 

[sam_gordon]

That's simply not true. It has been stated over and over by multiple sources that employers are allowed to ask your vaccination status. In certain circumstances, they can also require employees to be vaccinated.

About asking vaccination status:
"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has indicated in recent guidance that it is generally permissible for employers to ask employees about COVID-19 vaccination status. That’s because this simple question alone is not likely to elicit information from the employee about possible medical conditions, an inquiry that otherwise would invoke federal or state disability laws."

"If you require proof of vaccination, you should ask the employee to provide documentation from the immunization source showing the date(s) the vaccine was administered. To avoid potential legal issues related to this process, you should affirmatively inform employees that they do not need to provide any additional medical or family history information. The documentation you receive should be treated as a confidential medical record."

https://www.fisherphillips.com/news... Commission,about COVID-19 vaccination status.

^^ This info is from a law firm specializing in labor issues... but there are also many other news stories about it (but it's hard these days to find any news source that half the population won't dismiss.)

I agree with you. I pissed off my boss because he told me the company wasn't legally allowed to ask employees, and I told him I didn't think that was true. He said "well, we have to follow HIPAA." I told him that wasn't true either (we're not a medical facility and don't keep any medical records). He got upset and said "it's company policy that we don't ask." OK, why didn't you say so in the first place.