Preteens can get vaxxed without parent under California bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent under a proposal introduced Friday by a state senator who said youngsters “deserve the right to protect themselves” against infectious disease. “Those kids deserve the right to protect themselves.” Responding to criticism that the bill would limit parents’ oversight of their children’s health, Wiener said that California state law already allows people 12 and older to consent to the Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus vaccines and to treatments for sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse and mental health disorders. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and every day that they’re not getting vaccinated they’re more vulnerable,” Pan said at the news conference alongside Wiener, San Francisco’s public health director, Dr. Grant Colfax, and several students. They included Arin Parsa, a 9th grader from San Jose who founded the advocacy group Teens for Vaccines after seeing social media posts from “distraught” teens seeking information about how to get COVID-19 vaccines without their parents’ knowledge.