Teens can get COVID-19 vaccination without parental consent under proposed plan

PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania State Senator wants kids to be able to get a COVID-19 vaccination even without their parents’ consent.

Senator Amanda Cappelletti, who represents Montgomery and Delaware counties, plans to introduce a bill that would allow teens 14 and older to decide whether to get the immunization.

Parents or guardians would not be able to override their decision.

“It should go no further. Nope not at all. It should be the parents’ decision,” said grandfather Art Cummings.

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“If you want to start building up young leadership and stuff, you gotta start building it up. When parents say you have to get it, the kids can say no. If the parents say you can’t get it, kids can say yes. The kid will know what’s best for them, but I still think the parents should still be involved in having a conversation with it, said teenager Nick Gorman.

“Pennsylvania law already allows minors age 14 and over to consent to inpatient mental health treatment. This bill will largely mirror the mental health law to allow minors 14 and over to consent to CDC recommended immunizations,” Cappelletti wrote in the memorandum for the legislation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that everyone 16 and over is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

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Cox Media Group