I strongly OPPOSE the Proposed Amendments to “12 VAC 5-90 Changing the Reporting Requirement for Influenza Virus in Virginia.

The proposed amendments, which require the reporting of detailed personal information to state officials, constitute unnecessary and unwarranted government overreach in violation of the Virginia Constitution, which guarantees all Virginia citizens the right to privacy.

There is no scientific or legal justification provided for these proposed amendments that would allow state officials to electronically gather personal data and share it with federal officials and other entities, in violation of the constitutional right to privacy just because a Virginia citizen contacts a doctor with symptoms of an influenza-like-illness.