SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A bill to allow minors to consent to vaccines without parental permission will not move forward this year, with the author of the measure saying Wednesday that it remained short of votes heading into the final day of California's legislative session.
Senate Bill 866 by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was among a handful of bills introduced by Democratic lawmakers who formed a Vaccine Work Group this year focused on introducing bills to improve vaccination rates and reduce COVID-19 misinformation.
The bill would have allowed children 15 and older to be vaccinated, including against COVID-19, without a parent’s consent or knowledge. The legislation initially sought to allow children as young as 12 to make that decision when it passed the Senate in May, but Wiener said it was clear the bill faced an uncertain path in the Assembly unless he raised the age.
