Teens could get vaccinated against parents’ wishes under proposed California law

California teens could get vaccinated against parents’ wishes under a proposed law introduced Thursday.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said his proposal, Senate Bill 866, was spurred by parents who won’t let their kids get the COVID-19 vaccine.

It would allow people 12 and older to get any kind of vaccine without parental permission. Currently, children over 12 can get HPV and hepatitis B vaccines without parents’ permission, but that rule does not extend to other vaccines.

“We have almost a million 12- to 17-year-olds who are not vaccinated, and many want to be but their parents won’t let them or aren’t prioritizing getting them the vaccine,” Wiener said. “I think it’s outrageous that a parent would block their child from getting a vaccine that could save their life.”

Children and teens are much less likely than older adults to get very ill or die from the coronavirus, but they can fall seriously ill or die in rare cases. Studies show COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in preventing severe illness or death from the virus.

Wiener’s proposal is the first major vaccine-related bill introduced so far this year in the California Legislature, although a group of lawmakers is also working on other vaccine proposals. Under consideration are workplace vaccine requirements, as well as the possibility of eliminating a personal belief exemption from the state’s current student vaccine mandate, which Gov. Gavin Newsom issued last year but hasn’t yet taken effect.

Vaccine legislation has been extremely controversial in the past. In 2019, demonstrators packed the halls of the Capitol in protest of a bill to crack down on exemptions to childhood vaccinations. One anti-vaccine protester temporarily shut down the state Senate on the last night of the legislative session by throwing a menstrual cup of blood on lawmakers.

Already, lawmakers are bracing for more protests over the vaccine bills they plan to debate this year, which several said they expect to be even larger than in years past, given the high-profile controversy over COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

Wiener’s bill would apply only to vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including shots approved for emergency use.

Ani Chaglasian, a 17-year-old working with Wiener’s office to promote the legislation, said she lost her jobs at local hospitals taking calls for a teen crisis hotline and working as a scribe because her mom wouldn’t let her get the COVID-19 vaccine or the flu shot. She also had to stop playing water polo because she wasn’t vaccinated.

She’s since gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus, but not against the flu.

“So many kids are struggling because of anti-vax parents who aren’t listening to science,” she said.

She says the issue is particularly relevant in the Los Angeles area where she lives. Los Angeles Unified School District has imposed its own vaccine mandate for students, which could force unvaccinated students from attending classes.

Roughly 64% of people ages 12-17 are vaccinated against COVID-19, a lower rate than for adults.

Meanwhile, California is experiencing a surge in cases driven by the omicron variant. About one in five tests taken in the state comes back positive for the virus, according to state data.

Case rates are starting to taper down, but Newsom noted that hospitals are still strained by an influx of patients and encouraged people to get their booster shots.

“I’m starting to feel a little bit more optimism,” Newsom said during a Thursday stop in Los Angeles. “Let’s hold the line. Those that haven’t been boosted, get boosted. Those haven’t been vaccinated, get vaccinated.”

To become law, Wiener’s bill needs to pass both houses of the Legislature and secure Newsom’s signature.