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COVID-19 Vaccination of Minors Without Parental Consent

2021; American Medical Association; Volume: 175; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.1855

2168-6211

Larissa Morgan, Jason L. Schwartz, Dominic A. Sisti,

Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy

In May 2021, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, with authorization for younger children expected later this year. 1 Despite reported clinical trial data indicating that the vaccine is safe and 100% efficacious for this age range, some parents and guardians may remain hesitant or outright opposed to vaccinating their children, particularly in politically and culturally conservative communities. 2hildren and adolescents account for approximately 22% of positive COVID-19 cases reported to date, and hospitalizations among this population have recently spiked. 3Since July 2020, weekly reported case rates for individuals aged 14 to 17 years have generally mirrored or exceeded rates among adults. 4As cases decline in adults owing to vaccination, the current case rate in teenagers now exceeds that of adults 55 years and older. 5Although COVID-19 illness is generally less severe in younger people, the disease has nonetheless caused substantial morbidity and more than 325 deaths among US children and adolescents, a burden of disease greater than that of many diseases for which vaccines are routinely recommended in this age group. 6pproximately one-third of confirmed COVID-19 cases in minors have been asymptomatic, creating an opportunity for minors to spread the virus unknowingly.The reduction of asymptomatic transmission is essential to slowing the spread of the virus, and growing evidence suggests that vaccination provides substantial public health benefits by decreasing transmission in addition to its direct, individual benefits. 7For these reasons, there is an urgent need for increased immunization in younger age groups.Vaccinating minors is critical to protecting them from the virus, reducing transmission-especially to higher-risk populations-and continuing progress toward herd immunity.Children and adolescents have the capacity to understand and reason about low-risk and high-benefit health care interventions.State laws should therefore authorize minors to consent to COVID-19 vaccination without parental permission.