Pennsylvania DOH withdraws 502-page disease control plan after backlash from lawmakers
HARRISBURG, Pa. —
The Pennsylvania Department of Health just pulled a plan to make some major changes to the state’s rules for controlling diseases after a bit of backlash.
A 502-page proposal was accused, mainly by Republicans, of having too much power surrounding control and mitigation.
A coalition of 85 state legislators said they were concerned about an amendment to chapter 27 in the DOH code about the state collecting vaccination information and health officials accessing medical records.
The amended portion said, “Department or a local health authority may enter an apartment, a building, a health care facility, a school, college or university, or other location as necessary to conduct its investigation.”
The lawmakers asked the health department to rewrite or withdraw the proposal.
The DOH chose to withdraw it today, saying they received an unusually large number of public comments.
The department said it will consider that feedback and submit a revised version later.