Section 121280 Of Chapter 13. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (aids) Immunization From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 105. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 13.
121280
. (a) In enacting this section the Legislature finds and
declares:
(1) It is in the interest of the people of California to develop a
vaccine that will prevent the infection of HIV, the agent that
causes AIDS.
(2) In order to develop that vaccine, a prototype vaccine must be
first given to HIV-negative people to determine the following:
(A) The vaccine's toxicity.
(B) The vaccine's efficacy.
(C) The human immune response to the vaccine.
(3) These studies are currently impossible because vaccine
manufacturers fear that, by inoculating HIV-negative individuals with
an experimental vaccine, they will elicit a positive immune response
as measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western
blot or other federal Food and Drug Administration approved in vitro
diagnostic test, thereby placing vaccine volunteers at risk for
denial of health or life insurance by insurance carriers as a
consequence of their participation.
(4) Insurers need a reliable mechanism by which they can verify
the insurability of a vaccine trial participant.
(b) No health care service plan, disability insurer, nonprofit
hospital service plan, self-insured employee welfare benefit plan, or
life insurer may withhold any settlement or coverage of an
individual solely because of his or her participation in an AIDS/HIV
vaccine clinical trial studied under an investigational new drug
application effective pursuant to Section 312 of Title 21 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, or Section 111595.
(c) The sponsor of any such trial shall make a confidential
certificate with all the necessary particulars, which shall be
determined by the department, for each enrollee and then submit it to
the department, which shall endorse it and return it to the vaccine
recipient. A copy of this confidential certificate shall be kept on
file indefinitely by both the study sponsor and the department.
(d) Release of a confidential certificate shall be by written
authorization of the enrollee named in the certificate. If the
enrollee is unable to provide the written authorization, a person
designated in the certificate by the enrollee may provide the written
authorization. The written authorization shall include the name of
the person or entity to whom the disclosure would be made.
Disclosure as used in this section means to release, transfer,
disseminate or otherwise communicate all or part of any confidential
certificate orally, in writing, or by electronic means to any person
or entity.