Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene landed herself in the headlines yet again following a testy exchange with a reporter on July 20. Greene claimed that a question about the COVID-19 vaccine somehow violated her civil rights.
In a press conference broadcast on CSPAN, CBS reporter Aaron Navarro cited the current rise in US COVID-19 cases of the so-called Delta Variant, a mutated form of the virus more easily spread from person to person. Navarro cited Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, a Republican, as an example of someone showing leadership by encouraging his constituents to get vaccinated. Navarro asked if Greene herself had received the vaccine, and if she would encourage people living in her district to do the same.
Related: Marjorie Taylor Greene demands baby be removed from trans parents
“Your first question is a violation of my HIPAA rights,” Greene sniped. “See, with HIPAA rights, adults don’t have to reveal our medical records, and that also involves our vaccine records.”
Question: Have you yourself been vaccinated?
Greene: Your first question is a violation of my HIPAA rights pic.twitter.com/JuHDovV2mC— Acyn (@Acyn) July 20, 2021
Actually, Greene is incorrect on that point. HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) does not protect anyone from simply being asked a question about health history or vaccination status. The law also carves out exceptions to medical privacy laws in matters of public health issues, “to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to a person or the public.” For that reason, vaccination records are not considered protected information. It’s a common practice for schools, universities or employers to require proof of vaccination. The US government requires proof of vaccination to travel to certain countries as well.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has become a virtually nonstop source of controversy since joining congress earlier this year. In the past, she has spread conspiracy theories linked to QAnon as well as misinformation regarding the 9/11 attacks and 2020 Election. She has also recently come under fire for homophobic, antisemitic and transphobic remarks. Earlier this week, Twitter suspended her from the platform for spreading misinformation about the ongoing pandemic.
Mister P
Who knew that a pandemic could cause whining and crying in some right wing populations with low intelligence?
craigbrew2
She’s a twit!!! For the life of me I’ll never understand how people can spout off such lies.
dave3137
Actually, the fact is that asking a question does not violate HIPPA or any other law. I can voluntarily reveal any or all of my health information and so can she. But rather than say “none of your business,” she chooses to invoke what, in her fertile imagination, the “law” is.
HIPAAnotHIPPA
*HIPAA
jw8890
Will you please stop giving this demented whackjob attention. Not even georgia wanted her. We got stuck with her because her opponent dropped out due to death threats.
woodroad34
What a dumb broad. What a blonde bimbo. What a marroon. And she represents a claque of clucks that think like her.
Peter
What’s a “marroon?”
Kangol2
Not sure about “marroons,” but “maroons” were anti-slavery activists and freedom fighters and anything but this moronic excuse for a human being.
Garath99
Maroon is from bugs bunny. He was saying maroon instead of moron.
miller2900
…. thank you Garath99 for educating the readers that didn’t have the fortune to have grown up with good ole Bugs Bunny to understand what a “Marroon” is. Amazing how a certain generation of us grew up with enough common sense to realize that the “animated” violence of Daffy, Bugs, and the rest of Saturday morning cartoons…. wasn’t real or ok to repeat in the real world. Although, there has to be exceptions to everything…. however, I believe any child that “acted out” after watching a good ole Warner Bros. or Hanna Barbara cartoon were on the path of problems already. A good parent would have recognized that and kept their child away from the babysitter in a box.
laurent7465
Miller2900, you are so dead on with your observation.
mailliw110
Kinda sucks to be our age sometimes.
Chrisk
Ha. Yes everyone past the age of 50 would absolutely know what maroon means.
GayEGO
So typical of Marjorie Taylor Greene, she keeps messing up!
Fahd
Dumb people are going to say dumb things.
Mr. Stadnick
Marjorie Taylor Greene (fill in the blank) and makes a fool out of herself.
She is the queen of all idiots right now. She has given the uneducated and plain old stupid someone to look up too. “She’s really stupid and uneducated like me if she can do so can I”
Mack
Just another Republican from the bottom of the barrel, extreme bottom.
Max
a lot of these types of Republicans in office just do not educate themselves first. they let their uninformed diarrhea roll out and do not seem to care that they’re wrong. it is surprising how many times they’re self-convinced they’re in the right without doing any homework.
miller2900
…I actually think some of the Republican politicians know exactly what they’re doing. They do it because they know just how clueless, uneducated, and just too lazy to investigate for facts that their constituents are and use that to their benefit to get into power/elected then stay there.
laurent7465
Miller2900 you hit the nail on the head. Every single one of those a-holes knows EXACTLY what they’re doing and their dumb *ss base are to stupid to realize it. I’ll put four of my stupid cousins up as prime examples.
1898
not sure how this is even tangentially related to the LGBTQ community but if you’re going to write about this incident you could at least spell HIPAA correctly. it’s HIPAA, not HIPPA.
BoomerMyles
It’s relevant because MTG is a nonstop cesspool of anti LGBT and anti trans hate speech.
Heywood Jablowme
Yes! MTG misspelled HIPAA in her tweet. Queerty should have caught it, especially after they spelled out what the initials stand for.
Also in her case I think she may have meant HIPPO rights, lol.
HIPAAnotHIPPA
My thoughts exactly
HIPAAnotHIPPA
He fixed it ?
footwork61
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (note: 1 p, 2 a’s) applies to healthcare providers, health insurance companies and organizations, and healthcare clearinghouses, such as medical coders. It does not apply to individuals, researchers, or other entities.
justifiit
If a person wants to be in politics they should know something about it, you can’t be an armchair quarterback when it comes to taking care or the people you are suppose to represent. It’s not about you being in the limelight, it truly all about them.
Kangol2
When I went to college, I had to prove I had been vaccinated for certain things (measles, mumps, etc.) or was required to get vaccinated. There’s a reason many governments aim to vaccinate children in order to protect them and everyone else. This imbecilic woman not only doesn’t understand HIPAA, but she also is helping to propagate an anti-vaccine stand, which is dangerous and potentially catastrophic at the current moment. Someone needs to say to this witch, You and others like you have blood on your hands! Does 605,000 dead Americans in one year not move these wacko supposedly patriotic people?
BoomerMyles
I hope the next time I read about her is her obituary.
miller2900
….is as much as I hate to say it…..AMEN!
laurent7465
I’d LOVE to add several more names to that list. lol
Prax07
I really think Greene was kicked in the head by a horse at some point in her life. There’s no other explanation for her idiocy.
travelino1
She is what is wrong with our country
Kevan1
Hypocritical trash. You know she has been vaccinated. C_NT.
My2CentsWorth
Just as was the case with her idol, Donald Trump, she likely got vaccinated and keeping it a secret. The idiot admitted that he was vaccinated – maybe after a number of his supporters became infected because they did not get vaccinated.
lilting
Not a bad place to hang out!
okiloki
So she basically admitted that she is vaxxed. She could be saving lives by admitting it.
Kevan1
How much longer do we have to put up with uneducated trash in Washington? The GOP seems to have a monopoly on them.
Tombear
Let the MAGAts die! They have been informed about the delta variant and they still chose not to receive the vaccine. The IQ pool will gain 10 points.
HIPAAnotHIPPA
I can’t help but laugh at child journalist David Reddish, the author of this article for trashing Marjorie Taylor Greene about being an idiot for her lack of understanding HIPAA. LOL you wrote an entire article calling it “HIPPA” and at one point you even spelled out what the acronym stands for but still got the acronym wrong LOL. You said “ Actually, Greene is incorrect on that point. HIPPA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) does not protect…” Do your homework next time it’s HIPAA. smh
HIPAAnotHIPPA
Thank you for correcting it. Now I can read the article without thinking you’re a fool.