Do US teens have the right to be vaccinated against their parents’ will?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone aged 12 and up. And yet, 12- to 15-year olds are the least vaccinated age group in the country, with 1 in 3 having received one dose and just 1 in 4 being fully vaccinated – about half the rate of the population as a whole.
In some states, minors can legally decide for themselves whether they would like to get vaccinated. In Tennessee, for example, state law allows teens 14 and older to make medical treatment decisions without parental consent. But earlier this summer, state health officials fired their vaccination director after she wrote a memo explaining the law to state medical providers.
I teach vaccine law, so I know the principle that certain minors may be vaccinated without parental consent is woven into our country’s history.