Privacy advocates are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would protect sensitive information gathered from people being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Advocates say the sharing of information could be misused by a raft of entities, including authorities who the New York Civil Liberties Union suggests could use that data in criminal proceedings.
That possibility could be having a chilling effect in the rate of vaccinations among some groups, and hinder public health efforts against the pandemic and other health crises.
The proposed law also has wider ramifications. With the recent spread of monkeypox, some health advocates worry that the sharing of information collected in administering vaccines for the disease could result in privacy violations.
