CDC confirms use of new medical codes for tracking COVID-19 vaccination status

On April 23, 2020, the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)By Zachary Stieber4/6/2023Updated: 4/23/2023PrintX 10:00Medical codes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to show when people are unvaccinated and undervaccinated are being used to track people, the top U.S. public health agency has confirmed.

In emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the claim. According to the CDC, the new codes in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) system would be used to track people who aren’t immunized or only partially immunized. The CDC now says it does not have access to the data, but health care systems do.

ICD codes were implemented in April 2022, but the CDC does not have any data on the codes and does not track this data.

Healthcare providers use the codes to track within their practices.”

As of now, the CDC has not responded to questions from The Epoch Times about the codes, which the CDC added to the U.S. ICD system in 2022.

A CDC email regarding the new medical codes. (CDC via The Epoch Times)How providers are using the codes

In a meeting about the proposal, Dr. David Berglund, a CDC medical officer, said, “There has been interest expressed in tracking people who are not immunized or are only partially immunized.”

The first code indicates that the patient has not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The second code indicates that the patient has been partially vaccinated or has not received a primary series of a vaccine against COVID-19.

According to a joint letter from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, health care providers expressed their support for including codes that would aid in identifying unvaccinated or undervaccinated individuals for COVID-19. They believe this will assist health insurance providers in reaching out and educating those who may benefit from vaccination.

To help increase immunization rates, ICD-10 codes that can be tracked via claims would provide health insurance providers with key information.”

In another missive, Nancy Andersen, a director with Kaiser Permanente Health Plan and Hospitals, and Erica Eastham, executive director at The Permanente Federation LLC, told the CDC, “These codes provide valuable data for understanding immunization rates and following up with under-immunized patients.”

The CDC should advise providers entering one of the new codes to also enter an additional code indicating why a person wasn’t vaccinated or undervaccinated, including contraindications and “group pressure.”

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, The Epoch Times obtained the comments.

Providers and other health care groups that commented, including the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), did not respond to inquiries.

People tracked through the new codes didn’t receive any education from AHIP, according to a spokeswoman. The codes are part of the ICD’s 10th edition. A spokeswoman pointed to a Feb. 28, 2022, article detailing steps providers have taken to promote vaccination. ICD-10 was developed by the World Health Organization, but the United States has adopted it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ICD-10 doesn’t include the new codes.

ICDs must be used by all health care organizations covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. A CDC report states that public health officials can perform many disease-related activities by coding ICD data from providers. The U.S. version is updated at least once a year. Among the purposes are to make it easier for doctors to retrieve patients’ medical histories.

Unvaccinated or undervaccinated patients were considered a “risk factor” by health care officials, who largely supported adding the codes. As a spokeswoman for AHIMA, she told The Epoch Times that being unvaccinated or partially vaccinated … is a health risk factor, increasing a person’s risk of morbidity and mortality.

Underimmunization for COVID-19 status is another type of risk factor included in the ICD-10-CM coding system. Healthcare providers need to be aware of the factors that influence a patient’s health status so that they can be aware of their higher risk.”

The small risk most Americans face from COVID-19 has led some experts to claim the new codes have no medical indication.

In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, pediatrician Dr. Todd Porter said, “I cannot see clinically the medical indication of using them.” For influenza, which has a higher IFR [infection fatality ratio] than COVID-19 in the younger age groups, we do not do this. As a result, the CDC refuses to answer members of Congress about the contribution of natural immunity, which is more robust than vaccine immunity.”

A member of Congress has asked the CDC about the codes, but the CDC has refused to reply. As part of their concerns about the federal government reportedly gathering data on Americans’ personal choices, Chip Roy (R-Texas) and nine other members wrote that the data served “no sincere purpose in treating patients’ medical conditions.”

According to the members, the ICD system was designed to categorize diagnoses and reasons for doctor visits, not for monitoring personal medical choices of US citizens. They emphasized the need for the CDC to clarify the purpose behind these new codes, especially considering the widespread skepticism and unease towards the CDC and healthcare system. The members also inquired about measures being taken by the CDC to safeguard Americans’ confidential health data.

There has been no response from the CDC since Feb. 14, members told The Epoch Times. “I asked five simple questions about the CDC’s unprecedented tracking of why Americans declined the COVID-19 vaccine.” As of yet, the CDC has refused to answer these basic questions. Roy told The Epoch Times that the American people should be informed about what data the CDC collects about Americans and why.

“The American people deserve to know what the CDC does with their personal data,” Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) said. The CDC has now been tracking American reasons for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine for more than a month and a half. The CDC must be held accountable to the American taxpayer.