Georgia will not review comments on HIV reporting plan

Georgia's Department of Human Resources has no plans to review public comments registered regarding the state's planned HIV reporting system that records the names of people who test positive for HIV infection, The Florida Times-Union reports. State officials in August announced plans to implement a names-based reporting system by the end of the year, and in mid-September launched a month-long public review period of the plan. The department received 56 comments by the time the review period ended on October 16, but a spokesman for the department said no one at the agency has expressed any interest in reading the comments. "If the board needed to see the comments or wanted to see them, they could certainly request them," said department spokesman Jed Nitzberg. "But frankly, they have not expressed that interest at this point." The department is expected to approve the names-based HIV reporting system at its November meeting. Thirty-five states use names to track HIV, 13 rely on codes, and New Hampshire allows cases to be reported with or without a name. The federal government will begin dispensing HIV prevention and treatment funds based on the number of new HIV cases in each state beginning in 2004.