Sangamon Sun

Veteran state Rep. Mike Murphy (R-Springfield) views House Bill 347 as an unnecessary infringement in the battle to take and maintain control over COVID-19.

“We don’t need to know the number of individuals; we just need to know how we’re doing as a whole in the county,” Murphy told ABC News in a video posted to You Tube.

The measure that recently passed the House would expand a statewide database for children, paving the way for doctors to also know which shots and vaccinations people have received as an adult.  As it is, the state already tracks the benefits of children who are on Medicaid and the proposed expansion would open that avenue to all Illinoisans. 

Even with more than 10,000 Illinois residents having recently filed opposition to the bill amid growing concerns about privacy matters, it recently passed the House along partisan lines, with every Republican member voting against  its passage.

"I'm all for the vaccine," Murphy added. "However, we don't need to know the number of individuals."

Sponsored by state Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), the bill would also help track immunizations across the state and identify public health trends. Gabel also stressed that the database would be used in the aggregate and there will be a way for individuals to opt out.

"People have the right to decide if they want their data in the database or not," she told ABC.  

A provision in the bill also seeks to set aside more money to vaccinate children against disease and would increase the state’s reimbursement for pediatricians by about $10 per shot, prompting critics of the measure as a whole to predict the higher reimbursements could move some doctors to push even harder for more vaccinations.