NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SURVEY
PRIVACY NOTICE
The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is conducting a survey of New Jersey residents to assist in the COVID-19 public health emergency response vaccination effort to ensure fair and equitable distribution of COVID vaccines for New Jersey residents. This survey will allow NJDOH and one or more enrolled Vaccine Administration Providers to collect and input information into the New Jersey Vaccine Scheduling System (NJVSS) to schedule appointments for those residents who are unable to travel to a vaccine administration site and require COVID-19 vaccination at home. Other than for that purpose, the information you provide is confidential and will not be shared with any other person, company or federal or State agency unless sharing it is required by law. Please read the rest of this Privacy Notice for more detailed information.
Is completion of this survey required?
No. Completion of the survey is not required but is strongly encouraged. Survey responses will allow NJDOH to better understand and serve the needs of New Jersey residents who would like to receive a vaccination against COVID-19 but are unable to travel to a vaccine administration site.
What categories of information does the survey collect about me?
NJDOH will collect certain information about you, including your contact information and demographic information, information about any licensed home health agencies supporting you, the primary reason you are unable to travel to a vaccine administration site, the number of other people in your household also interested in COVID-19 vaccination and if applicable the name of your caregiver, case manager or other individual who can assist you in scheduling a vaccination appointment at home.
Why is it necessary that the survey collect this information?
This information is necessary in order for NJDOH to identify a Vaccine Administration Provider who can meet your needs and for the Vaccine Administration Provider to be able to contact you and assist you with scheduling a vaccination appointment at home.
With whom does NJDOH share information in the survey?
NJDOH will share information you provide in the survey with the Vaccine Administration Provider identified to assist you to schedule your vaccination appointment(s) so that you can be vaccinated at home. Vaccine Administration Providers include New Jersey Local Health Departments, health care facilities, homecare agencies, pharmacies and other organizations authorized to schedule and administer COVID-19 vaccines at home. The Vaccine Administration Provider will have authorized administrative support staff contact you to assist with scheduling vaccination appointments and send individuals who are authorized to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, such doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to your home to administer the vaccine. More information on Vaccine Administration Providers is available in the New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. [1] NJDOH will share information collected in the survey with other third parties only if required to do so by law.
How and when will survey response information be shared?
After you complete the survey, NJDOH will use the information to assist in identifying a Vaccine Administration Provider who can administer a COVID-19 vaccine to you at home. In order to do this, NJDOH will share the information you provided in the survey with that Vaccine Administration Provider. The Vaccine Administration Provider will use the information you provided in the survey to contact you and to assist you in scheduling and receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. All Vaccine Administration Providers are enrolled as New Jersey Immunization Information System users pursuant to New Jersey Immunization Law (N.J.S.A. 26:4-131, et seq.) and Rules (N.J.A.C. 8:57-3.1, et seq.) and are required to maintain the confidentiality of your COVID-19 vaccination information in accordance with the Emergency Health Powers Act (N.J.S.A. 26:13-1, et seq).
Can I correct information I entered into the survey?
There is no option to correct information you entered into the survey. When a Vaccine Administration Provider is identified to assist you with scheduling and receiving a COVID-19 vaccination you may correct or clarify any information with the Vaccine Administration Provider.
Is information collected by NJDOH in this survey confidential and secure?
Yes, as stated above, the information gathered about you by the survey will be used only for public health vaccination purposes in the COVID-19 public health emergency response. Information you provide in this survey will not be monetized or sold. All Vaccine Administration Providers have been authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccinations and are required to maintain the confidentiality of your COVID-19 vaccination information in accordance with the Emergency Health Powers Act (N.J.S.A. 26:13-1, et seq).
NJDOH will share information collected about you in the survey with a third party only if required to do so by law. This means that NJDOH will defend the confidentiality of your information under the Emergency Health Powers Act if it is requested by a third party unless the law that the third party requestor is relying upon to request is determined to override the confidentiality provided under the Emergency Health Powers Act.
In addition, to protect the confidentiality of the information, NJDOH adheres to federal and State laws and generally recognized Information Technology industry security frameworks, namely: the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2002 (FISMA), 44 U.S.C. 3541 et seq; the Center for Internet Security (CIS) critical security control standards, and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM). NJVSS also complies with the Statewide Information Security Manual issued by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (OHSP), in collaboration with the NJ Office of Information Technology. These frameworks are designed by information technology specialists to protect your confidential information from a data security breach.
Contact:
Please direct any questions to the State of New Jersey’s Vaccine Support Call Center at supportnjvss@doh.nj.gov or 855-568-0545.
Need More Information:
More details on COVID-19 vaccination are available at https://covid19.nj.gov/vaccine.
Updates:
Updates to this privacy policy and notice will be available here.
[1] New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccination Plan:
https://nj.gov/health/legal/covid19/NJ%20Interim%20COVID-19%20Vaccination%20Plan%20-%20Revised%2012-15-20.pdf