On Thursday September 30th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released "guidance to help the public understand how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to disclosures and requests for information about whether a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine."

Also from the press release: "The guidance reminds the public that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to employers or employment records. This is because the HIPAA Privacy Rule only applies to HIPAA covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers that conduct standard electronic transactions), and, in some cases, to their business associates."

Direct link to press release: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/09/30/ocr-issues-guidance-on-hipaa-covid-19-vaccinations-workplace.html?utm_source=news-releases-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oct-3-2021-email-a 

The Full and Written Guidance on HIPAA, COVID-19 Vaccinations, and the Workplace may be found at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/hipaa-covid-19-vaccination-workplace/index.html.