Covid, prof can they ask students if they have had the vaccine?

The school starts again and, with it, the compulsory Green pass for its workers, including swabs and anti-covid vaccines required as per decree. And for the students? Is it legitimate for a teacher to ask the pupils if they are vaccinated or not? To answer is the Guarantor of Privacy in a letter addressed to the Ministry of Education “to sensitize schools on the risks of some initiatives” reported in recent weeks to the Authority. “The Guarantor Authority for the protection of personal data – reads the website of the Guarantor – has written to the Ministry of Education to make schools aware of the risks for privacy deriving from initiatives aimed at acquiring information on the vaccination status of students and of their respective family members. The letter also draws attention to the possible consequences for minors, including on the educational level, deriving from similar initiatives. In recent weeks – continues the Authority -, the Privacy Guarantor has received reports and requests for clarifications to about specific questions from teachers or behaviors aimed at acquiring, even indirectly, information on whether or not vaccination has taken place, both from students (in most cases minors) and from members of their respective families “. But the Authority recalls that,” according to the current regulatory framework, schools are not allowed to know the vaccination status of students of the first e second cycle of education, nor are they (unlike university students) required to possess and exhibit the green certification to access school facilities. As far as family members are concerned, school administrations cannot process information relating to the vaccination or not, but limit themselves to verifying, through authorized personnel, the mere possession of the green certification at the entrance to the school premises “. exemption from wearing a mask in classes where all students have completed the vaccination cycle or have a valid certificate of recovery, “the Guarantor has confirmed full cooperation with the Ministry of Education to identify implementation measures that allow to meet the health needs of epidemiological prevention and, at the same time, ensure respect for individual freedom of choice and the right to protection of personal data. The Authority reiterates the need for ways to be identified in any case that do not make the students concerned identifiable, also in order to prevent possible discriminatory effects for those who cannot or do not intend to undergo vaccination “, concludes the Guarantor.