COVID-19 Vaccination of Minors Without Parental Consent; Respecting Emerging Autonomy and Advancing Public Health

COVID-19 Vaccination of Minors Without Parental Consent; Respecting Emerging Autonomy and Advancing Public Health
Viewpoint
Larissa Morgan, Jason L. Schwartz, Dominic A. Sisti
JAMA Pediatrics, 12 July 2021
Excerpt
In May 2021, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, with authorization for younger children expected later this year.1 Despite reported clinical trial data indicating that the vaccine is safe and 100% efficacious for this age range, some parents and guardians may remain hesitant or outright opposed to vaccinating their children, particularly in politically and culturally conservative communities… Children and adolescents have the capacity to understand and reason about low-risk and high-benefit health care interventions. State laws should therefore authorize minors to consent to COVID-19 vaccination without parental permission…