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A proposed California law will let children ages 12 and older get any vaccine without their parent's permission.
Senate Bill 866 was introduced last night by Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco who argued that the state already allows children 12 and up to get other vaccines, like Hepatitis B, without any parent's consent. He also said it's important to give children the opportunity to choose whether or not they want to receive life-saving vaccines. This is the first bill proposed by a group of Democratic lawmakers who have pledged to strengthen vaccination laws and dismantle misinformation regarding vaccines, testing and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many anticipate heavy opposition to the law, particularly in the city of Sacramento, where issues of parental oversight and consent for medical decisions for children have been a long-stemming debate when involving vaccine laws. Most recently, this involved changes to vaccine mandate in schools, prolonged semester changes and vaccine exemptions for students based on personal beliefs and medical reasons.
If SB 866 is passed by the Legislature and signed by Newsom, the bill would go into effect Jan. 1, 2023.