A California measure that would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents' consent, including against the coronavirus, cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday.
If the proposal becomes law, California would allow the youngest age group of any state to be vaccinated without parental permission.
Wiener's proposal is perhaps the most contentious measure remaining from Democratic lawmakers' once-ambitious agenda, after several other proposals lost momentum as the winter pandemic wave eased - although cases are climbing again. Wiener said his vaccine bill"is not a revolutionary idea. It builds on long-standing existing California law about the age of consent for receiving health care."
"We know vaccines save lives," testified Ani Chaglasian, an advocate with Teens for Vaccines."Because I did not have the authority to vaccinate myself, I lost my job, summer internship, and was unable to see my grandma when she was intubated." Matthew McReynolds, an attorney representing the Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative legal defense organization, said providing students with true choice would be giving them"a choice to attend school with or without a vaccine. That's informed consent and that's true choice."